Althouse: The fall of Perez Hilton.

June 17, 2010

The fall of Perez Hilton.

He thought that was within the range of things we were doing, but he got that wrong. You can be edgy and daring and laughingly rude, but you can't do that.

37 comments:

kent said...: Perez Hilton, brought low by Miley Cyrus.

Which one of the seven Biblical seals are we on now, again...?; 6/17/10, 9:40 AM
chuck b. said...: The sooner he dries up and blows away, the better I will feel about being gay.

Unforch, I do not think he is the reason for our increasingly shallow, celebrity-obsessed popular culture. He's just serving a need.; 6/17/10, 9:42 AM
Paddy O said...: "...or do we just want him gone?"; 6/17/10, 9:50 AM
MadisonMan said...: I have always preferred dlisted.; 6/17/10, 9:50 AM
KCFleming said...: Live by the sordid, die by the sordid.; 6/17/10, 9:50 AM
kent said...: Live by the sordid, die by the sordid.

FTW; 6/17/10, 9:51 AM
traditionalguy said...: Hilton exists to play the celebrity game based upon the "all publicity is good publicity" calculation. The Sponsors are just acting out their usual roles being snsitive about the "Child Protection" ethic which is the only ethic anyone publicly subscribes to anymore. What a farce.; 6/17/10, 9:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Live by the sordid, die by the sordid.

Dude, this is modern America. You can live by the sordid all you want. Just follow Rule #1:

Rule #1: Make sure your naughty pictures are all of people over the age of 18.

It's Rule #1, rule number one, the number one thought on anyone professional's mind as he deals with sordidness of the barely-legal variety.; 6/17/10, 9:58 AM
Kensington said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/17/10, 9:58 AM
Kensington said...: If I had any photoshopping skills, I'd take one of those "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!" photos that he likes to take (like, say, the one here), throw it into a prison background (like, I don't know, this one), and draw semen on his face.

But I don't have those skills.; 6/17/10, 10:00 AM
Anonymous said...: He's an ugly, desperate person.; 6/17/10, 10:02 AM
Salamandyr said...: On the one hand, Perez Hilton is a smug asshole.

On the other hand, is there really anyone in the world, including Miley Cyrus, who thinks of her as a "child"?

She's 17, for Pete's sake. Her cha will look exactly the same the day after her birthday as it does now. Calling it "child pornography" destroys any meaning to the words.; 6/17/10, 10:07 AM
Phil 314 said...: I am heart-broken

A great American figure brought low.

I really am struggling to get a handle on what's "over the line" these days. Not to condone at all what Mr. Hilton did (Mr. Hilton is not condonable) I guess a "revealing" shot is bad if not consented to (or at least, not approved by your agent as an attempt to broaden your appeal as in this.)

Birds of a feather; 6/17/10, 10:08 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Can someone punch him in the mouth again?; 6/17/10, 10:10 AM
Roger J. said...: Who in the hell is Perez Hilton--must be related to Paris Hilton--why is what this asshole does even news? Throw him in jail for child porn and let him get up close and personal with his cell mates.; 6/17/10, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: "The fall of Perez Hilton"...well, he didn't have far to go.; 6/17/10, 10:17 AM
jeff said...: "Can someone punch him in the mouth again?"
seconded.
"She's 17, for Pete's sake. Her cha will look exactly the same the day after her birthday as it does now. Calling it "child pornography" destroys any meaning to the words."
So we move the age to 17. of course a 16 year old will look the same as she did the day after her birthday as she does now. So we move the age to 16.
Of course a 15 year old will look the same as she did the day after her birthday as she does now. So we move the age to 15.

Got to draw a line somewhere.; 6/17/10, 10:18 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/17/10, 10:20 AM
Anonymous said...: It would be nice if karmic justice were served. That guy is a toad and a jerk.; 6/17/10, 10:21 AM
KCFleming said...: The shameless cannot be shamed, just defunded, delinked, and d-listed.

Or follow Althouse's mother's wise stock response: "Just ignore him. ...You'll only encourage him."; 6/17/10, 10:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Surprised by one of the last limits in an otherwise limitless world.

How long until we grow tired of protecting the young?

After all, as far as I can see there's no effective counter to the argument that being romantically or sexually attracted to young people is innate.; 6/17/10, 11:13 AM
pdug said...: why are women going out without underwear on?

like ever?

It serves no purpose does it? Other than adding a potential flash; 6/17/10, 11:34 AM
Big Mike said...: Question. Is it that they always eventually go too far? Or is it that after a while "the" people get tired of their toys and throw them away?; 6/17/10, 11:53 AM
A.W. said...: big hollywood argued the other day that he technically violated the child porn statute.

I think it is mostly a cogent argument, but i wonder if first amendment principles will shape how the statute is read or enforced.; 6/17/10, 12:10 PM
A.W. said...: and all that being said, miley is getting out of control.

i really think this child star thing is sick. how many people start as child stars and grow up to be normal people?; 6/17/10, 12:11 PM
Greg Hlatky said...: defunded, delinked, and d-listed.

How Cole Porter-ish!; 6/17/10, 12:30 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I don't understand impulses to take swipes at teenagers.

"Ha ha! Look at them trying to find their footings in the adult world and stumbling sometimes! Ha ha ha!"

Nope, don't get it.; 6/17/10, 2:37 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I remember being enraged when the Rolling Stone photo spread of then seventeen year old Britney Spears came out my freshman year of college. Not enraged at Britney Spears but at the adults around her who allowed her to be sexually exploited in that way and at Rolling Stone for doing the exploiting.; 6/17/10, 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: She's 17, for Pete's sake. Her cha will look exactly the same the day after her birthday as it does now.

Once she turns 18 it will be okay for me to speculate on whether ... oh, never mind.

Peter; 6/17/10, 3:26 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Perez Hilton is a pig, but I do like "live by the sorid, die by the sorid."

I doubt they will prosecute him, but I would much rather Perez Hilton face the prosecution than some high school kids texting naked picture of each other. I have no idea how this guy has a career, but apparently he does.

Oh, and the Miley photograph was apparently photoshopped. Which is still child pornography (as it is defined).; 6/17/10, 4:05 PM
William said...: I'm vaguely embarassed that I even know who these two people are. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that their lives are so extreme and sui generis that no useful lessons can be derived from the examples of their lives. It's like studying the sultan and his harem for lessons on how to keep your marriage intact.; 6/17/10, 4:09 PM
halojones-fan said...: You know, you'd think that someone who so often trades on staying within the letter of the law would make damn fuckin' sure he stayed within the letter of the law.

Not that I'm sad to see an asshole get what he deserves, but it's just such a silly way for it to happen. It's Al Capone getting done for tax evasion. It's the judicial equivalent of a bully slipping on a banana peel and breaking his arm; it's just not narratively satisfying.; 6/17/10, 6:00 PM
Methadras said...: Perez Hilton is a sub-human parasite. This type of vermin needs to be eradicated. The sooner he becomes an internet footnote the better. Frankly, if I was Billy Ray, I'd find that piece of filth were he sleeps and make him wish never to wake up again.; 6/17/10, 7:39 PM
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Revenant said...: Got to draw a line somewhere.

Well, sure, just like we need to draw the line somewhere when it comes to vehicle speeds. But if you talk about someone doing 67 in a 65 zone like they were a serious threat to life and limb, you can't expect me to take you seriously.

Is it illegal to post pictures of a 17-year-old's vagina? Sure. Does it outrage me? Eh, not really.; 6/17/10, 10:01 PM
Revenant said...: Got to draw a line somewhere.

Well, sure, just like we need to draw the line somewhere when it comes to vehicle speeds. But if you talk about someone doing 67 in a 65 zone like they were a serious threat to life and limb, you can't expect me to take you seriously.

Is it illegal to post pictures of a 17-year-old's vagina? Sure. Does it outrage me? Eh, not really.; 6/17/10, 10:01 PM
Anonymous said...: The age of consent for sex in many states -- if not most of them -- is lower than 17. I'm not sure what it is for having pictures of your hair pie on the Internet.

The libertarian side of me says this is a bullshit charge. The douchebag hipster side says let Perez Hilton spend some time in the hoosegow.; 6/18/10, 12:22 AM