He has done other controversial things on his wildly popular website including posting photos last year of Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black having sex with his then-boyfriend.
Many gay people have found it unfathomable that a gay person such as Perez could so such mean-spirited things and his defense has always been that he treats gays celebs just as he does straight celebs.
On today’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show, we will see a more compassionate Perez who says he’s through with all of the negativity and here’s why:
“Over the last two weeks, I have been doing everything I can to bring awareness to the issue of teen suicides and gay bullying,” he told Ellen. “In doing so, a lot of people have called me a hypocrite and a bully myself and a big one. That’s not how I want to be perceived and that’s not what I want to put out there into the world. It was a big wake-up call that so many people saw me that way, so from now on I really want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
His site is known for the unkind name-calling and inappropriate drawings on pictures of celebrities. He says no more of that: “I want to be the change that I want to see in others. I’m going to do things differently on my website than I have in the past. I’m not going to call people nasty nicknames. I’m not going to go the mean route. I’m going to force myself to try and be funnier or smarter or just do things different, not doodle inappropriate things, not out people, which I have done all of those things in the past.”
“I want to be able continue to speak out on the gay bullying and teen suicides and I want to be able to go to the gay rallies and the marches, like I have in the past, and not have people in my own community feel ashamed about me or embarrassed. I have started and I’ve already started to do things differently, and it was scary and wasn’t easy, but I feel like it was the right thing to do for myself and the world.”
On the Dustin Lance Black controversy: “I’m not saying I’m perfect. Yes, I won’t out celebrities anymore but if there’s another situation like the Dustin Lance Black nude photos — I will for sure report that. It’s a different thing. [I don't regret it at all.] I got so much flak from the gay community for that and I found that very hypocritical. I’m not perfect and I might make mistakes and I’ll probably say or do things that will upset gay people in the future. And that’s OK, because I’m making a concerted effort to do things differently and be sincere about it and just be mindful of what I do and how I do it.”
On his feelings about outing from this day forward: “If I know someone is gay and in the closet I might just repeatedly say that person has a very pretty face [laughs]. I’m still going to be me. To me, that’s still being playful and sassy. But I’m not forcing anyone to come out. I’m not outing anyone. And I don’t even know that that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not putting myself in a box or saying “This is what I’ll do or won’t do.” It’s all going to be case by case, post by post situation. I’m just trying to be more thoughtful.”
Here is part of Perez being more thoughtful – his It Gets Better video to try and combat teen suicides:
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