Police reportedly responded to Perez Hilton‘s home in Miami after the celebrity gossip blogger appeared to be harming himself on a livestream.
In graphic clips reposted on social media, Hilton, appearing manic, could be seen in the livestream covered in blood, using an object to cut himself repeatedly.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office told Newsweek in a statement that deputies responded to Hilton’s home after the office received “multiple calls” about a person livestreaming acts of self-harm. After authorities confirmed Hilton was alone inside the home and spoke with family members at the scene, deputies decided to “tactically disengage while continuing to monitor the situation.”
“In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritize de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication,” the statement continued. “Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilizing crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimize the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the public.”
The Hollywood Reporter has also reached out to the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office for comment on the incident involving Perez, in addition to his personal rep.
Earlier this year, Perez shared in a lengthy Instagram video that he was hospitalized for three weeks after initially battling the flu before developing “an ulcer, and then a perforation, and then Sepsis,” he said at the time.
“The Sepsis just kept working and my body kept falling apart,” Hilton explained in the video in March. “Then one night with rapid response came ’cause my heart got out of control. They had to put me on heart medications. And then I developed another infection in the hospital.”
He added, “It was just such a slow process. I mean, two weeks of just sickness and then another week of getting better before I was released. And that last week was hell because I had already been in the hospital two weeks by then. I was like, ‘I just wanna go home. I just want to be with my babies.’” Perez is a single father of three children.
Once he was released from the hospital and sent back home, Perez said he had time to reflect and came to the realization “that God presented Himself to me” during the challenging experience.
“It was real and this has been life-changing. I’m so grateful,” he added at the time. “I’m excited to start taking the kids to church every week. And to just know that God is real. … I don’t have to hope to believe. I know now.”
