Update!

Perez Hilton Sues Black Eyed Peas Manager, Apologizes to "Anyone Who Was Hurt"

Gossip guru files civil suit against group's tour manager over weekend attack, claims his civil rights were violated

By Josh Grossberg Jun 25, 2009 2:30 AMTags
Perez HiltonAP Photo/Perez Hilton

UPDATE: The recently abashed blogger offered another apologia on his website Wednesday, in which he says he has made more mistakes this past week "than [he] can count on one hand."

But he is "NOT apologizing to GLAAD," he emphasizes.

"I am apologizing to the gay community, to anyone who was hurt by my my choice of words, and to all the people who have ever emailed me to thank me for all that I have done to fight for gay rights over the last few years."
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Perez Hilton is ready to eat his peas and then some.

Hollywood's most hated gossip hound has filed a lawsuit claiming he suffered a black eye and "emotional distress" at the hands of the Black Eyed Peas tour manager (who, it turns out, has a rap sheet) during a Monday morning smackdown in Toronto.

In his complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court under his legal name of Mario Lavandeira, the blogger says he was beaten up by 36-year-old Polo Molina following a dispute with will.i.am and Fergie over the artistic merits of the Peas' new album, The E.N.D. Hilton also claims his civil rights were violated by Molina's actions.

Hilton is seeking compensation for medical expenses and unspecified general and punitive damages.

Molina was arrested by Toronto police and charged with one count of assault after allegedly striking Hilton in the face outside a downtown club during an afterparty for the MuchMusic Awards. The hit came after the openly gay Hilton called will.i.am "a f-----t."

In the aftermath, Hilton and will.i.am posted dueling videoblogs detailing their cases. Hilton was also skewered by celebrities like John Mayer and Kelly Clarkson, who felt the attack was deserved given his online trash-talking, as well as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which slammed him for using the slur.

Hilton has since apologized for his "misguided" comment, saying that "words can hurt" and that he wished "none of it had happened."

That prompted a follow-up statement from GLAAD today.

"Perez Hilton's acknowledgement that words can hurt is an important step in the right direction, and while his change of tone is welcome, he still seems to be justifying the use of the slurs," said GLAAD spokesman Rashad Robinson.

"A statement that stops short of apologizing for and disavowing the use of that slur doesn't get us where we need to be—these are vulgar antigay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance that continues to put our community in harm's way. When someone from our community uses a far-reaching media platform to promote these kinds of slurs, it sends a message that it's OK to use these dehumanizing words."

The gay rights organization then called on Hilton to cease and desist from using such "demeaning and defamatory language" against any group on his website.

So far—and against type—he's remained mum.

Meanwhile, E! News has confirmed that Molina is currently on probation for a 2006 DUI in Orange County. He pleaded guilty the following year to driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $390 and was ordered to attend a First Offender Alcohol Program for three months.

"Based on the information we have and on the fact that it's out of our jurisdiction and out of the country, it's unlikely that he will be in violation of his probation," Orange County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sarrah Emami said. "In order for someone to be in violation, the probation department has to recommend that and in light of the fact that the charge stems from another country, it's unlikely."

—Additional reporting by Ashley Fultz

(Originally published June 24, 2009, at 1:55 p.m. PT)