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Perez Hilton, blogger Hollywood loves to hate
2007-08-07
Known in the blogosphere as Perez Hilton and to himself as "Queen of All Media", Mario Armando Lavandeira puts Hollywood stars on daily notice in an admittedly amateurish blog that is his own claim to fame. "You can call me fat, call me ugly, call me not funny, but don't call me a liar," he told AFP. A Cuban-American born in Miami, Lavandeira has joined a long, if not revered, list of Hollywood gossip-mongers, stretching from Walter Winchell's radio days to the website of Matt Drudge. Lavandeira, 29, is creating gossip in the age of the blogger. His pink-toned website carries more warnings than a packet of cigarettes: "Hollywood's Most-Hated Web Site!" and "If you are easily offended, then do not click here!" The site invites public postings, some of which dare to be more caustic than his own, and not for quoting here. Perezhilton.com posts photos of celebrities partying, chillin' and embarrassing themselves even before Lavandeira adds his biting captions. The most-sought-after photos capture stars at parties, with makeup askew and, of course, those that evidence Hollywood infidelities or reveal previously closeted sexual proclivities. Internet tracker ComScore Media Metrix places Perezhilton.com among the top 10 entertainment news sites, drawing 1.7 million US visitors and 2.6 million worldwide. Lavandeira brags of having attracted 8.3 million hits in one day within the past week. Not bad for a Cuban-American kid who learned English at age six. Lavandeira began in 2004, calling his an "amateur" blog -- and still does. However, there is nothing amateurish about his advertising rates: up to 9,000 dollars (6,500 euros) a week for a single ad and 45,000 dollars for the most expensive package, his ad representative, Henry Copeland, told the New York Times. The site's average visitor age, a coveted 26, lures ads from fashion, booze and, of course, entertainment. A chunk of that defrays lawsuits. Forbes reported that photo distributor Hollywood X17 sued him, claiming he posted their photos without permission. Then, there is the letter that singer Avril Lavigne sent Lavandeira begging him to respect her wishes and not to publish her request on his website. He did, anyway. "I don't have any regrets for anything," he told AFP. "If you are celebrity or a politician you need to be prepared." Like the gossip columnists of yesteryear, his sources are many: "agents, managers, assistants, publicists, neighbors, relatives, celebrities, people at clubs, people at bars, valet people, bartenders, waiters, housekeepers -- everything." "I don't pay for information," he said, ticking off his short list of ethical guidelines. "I take what I do seriously and I work hard at it. I don't want to put any misinformation out there. I make money through advertising." One of his favorite foils is Victoria Beckham, whose photo he posted on the website with a crude, hand-drawn dialogue bubble and "I'm a whore" popping from her mouth -- an offense that netted Hilton an invitation to join Beckham on an NBC program on her arrival in Hollywood. However, meeting his near namesake Paris Hilton was almost anti-climactic: "I was expecting her to, like, put a drink on me or hate me or whatever. "But she didn't have time to think about it... she said, 'I've been on your website before blah, blah... it's really funny and I was 'oh my gosh!' It wasn't the reaction that I was expecting." The hotel heiress liked him right down to his business cards: "She said they are hot and sexy."
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