Op-ed: Anthony Gilét
As a stand-up comedian, who thrives off of dark humour, I’m constantly questioning where to draw the line. Comedians offend people and take shots at those in the public eye all the time; but what Perez Hilton has done isn’t a joke. Aside from the fact that there was no punch line, there’s nothing funny about wishing death on, or telling people to kill themselves. Well, unless you’re talking to Ann Coulter. (That’s how I would implement a joke about deserved death).
And we’re looking at you too, Chrissy Tegein.
Hilton came under fire for joining the #FreeBritney movement, mostly because he trashed Spears for years – including an entire moment where he created merch suggesting the singer should be dead instead of Heath Ledger.
Like WTF?! Who does that? (Again, unless you’re talking about Ann Coulter).
Now he’s a released a 20-minute video entitled “My Message to Britney Spears and the Free Britney Movement”, although spends a majority of the video talking about himself. Surprised?
I feel like we keep giving Hilton a chance, and every single time he proves to us that he didn’t deserve it.
He talks at length about how he is now being bullied by Britney fans. Rather than acknowledge his karma, and put the comments he’s received down to deserved accountability (temporary), he’s decided to play the victim.
Just in case you’re wondering: playing the victim after your wrong-doing doesn’t work.
As a social commentator, you’re going to offend people, but none of what he’d said was in jest, and none of the things he made fun of were light-hearted. Hilton should have extinguished his ego and made his video all about the #FreeBritney movement, like someone who actually cared about the cause would.
“I fully own how reprehensible I used to be back in the day. I can see it, I can acknowledge it, and I carry with me deep shame and regret,” he says. “Especially knowing that I contributed to Britney Spears’ pain.”
I would argue that Hilton’s style of trashy tabloidism was trendy back in the day (he wouldn’t have had a platform so big, if there weren’t loyal consumers), but it’s always been felt that Perez was a borderline bully.
The thing is, the world is changing and we do all make mistakes, but its hard to tell everyone you’ve changed when you haven’t. Hilton probably is sorry for what he put Britney through, but is it just because his own reputation is under fire?
Furthermore, we have to ask what he’s actually doing to rectify those mistakes. Other than sending Britney an email which she apparently read but never replied to. For EXAMPLE: He could’ve stood outside the court with a placard, taken counselling to investigate why he would suggest Britney would be better off dead, and then volunteer at an anti-bullying charity like the Stand Up Foundation.
Just some thoughts.
