Perez to GLAAD: 'I'm the Victim'

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement on Monday that censured gay blogger Perez Hilton for his use of antigay slurs during an alleged confrontation with will.i.am, Fergie, and other members of the Black Eyed Peas early Monday morning in Toronto.

Now the celebrity blogger has responded.

"I am saddened GLAAD chose to victimize me further by criticizing me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent," Hilton said in a statement. While I doubt I will get an apology from GLAAD, nor do I expect one, I would just hope people know how difficult it is to intellectualize a situation and think rationally when a thug disguised as a musician is screaming at your face and intimidating you. I am just very fortunate and grateful that nothing more serious happened to me."

Hilton initially claimed via Twitter that will.i.am punched him in the face, although the band's manager, Polo Molina, later claimed responsibility for the act and turned himself in to Toronto police.

In a video Hilton posted about the incident after the MuchMusic Awards, he said that he "made the split-second decision" to hurl the gay slurs because he believed they were "the worst possible thing that thug [will.i.am] would ever want to hear." Hilton said he told will.i.am, "You're gay and stop being such a faggot."

While GLAAD condemned the violence against Hilton as "unacceptable," the organization devoted most of its statement to his use of the antigay language.

"These are vulgar antigay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community," said Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs at GLAAD. “For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is, quote, ‘The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,’ is incredibly dangerous. It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting antigay attitudes.”

GLAAD had asked Hilton to apologize for his use of the slurs.