Don't tell this man your secrets
(Credit: Courtesy of Perez Hilton.com)
That's because Hilton (real name Mario Lavandeira) gets a sassy 7.1 million page views at his gossipy and addictive blog per day, making him more popular than many of the "stars" he lambastes on the site—like Rumer Willis, aka "Potato Head." "I wish I'd never written anything about her," he says.
The former print journalist now has his own VH1 show, "What Perez Sez," in which he chin-wags with celebrity guests like M.I.A, Amy Winehouse and Hilary Duff.
“I tried to give Hilary Duff a fake ID and bottle of Jack Daniel's,” he says. "Her publicist wasn't into it."
What's Perez's signature style? When we ran into him at the Us "Hot Hollywood" party, he told Metromix: "I want to have fun, be silly, embrace color and do things other people wouldn't have the balls to do—or the good taste."
We caught up with Tinseltown’s numero uno blog beyotch again, to dish about celebrity style, L.A. Fashion Week and where he shops—or doesn't—in Los Angeles.
You interviewed Amy Winehouse for your new show. What was she like?
Well … it was a little awkward. Right before we did the interview she locked herself in my bathroom for 20 minutes with her husband. So it was a little bizarre, to say the least. That was in Chicago, three days before her alleged overdose.
Hilary Duff seemed so together—so young and yet so poised.
That interview was a little difficult, to be honest, because her publicist was in the room and she was kinda meddling. I could hear her being disgruntled if I was asking her a question that she didn’t like. It was totally affecting my mojo.
What questions didn't she like?
Silly stuff. I thought a fun way to start the interview would be to bring her a gift. So I brought her a fake ID, because that night she was performing at a gay club that was 21 and over. And she’s not even 21. So I said, “Look, now you can get into the club!” And I bought her a bottle of Jack Daniel's, too. And I started asking her if she’d had any cocktails, because she’s always going out to all these clubs. And then I asked her about porn, because we were in the Valley.
You asked her about porn?
Yes, I asked if she had a porn name. Her publicist was freaking out, saying, “She’s on Hollywood Records, and they are owned by Disney.”
What was her porn name?
I don’t remember.
When you go shopping in L.A., where do you go?
I don’t really go shopping in L.A. anymore. People just send me stuff. Like Eve gave me something from her new line, which is lovely.
Smart lady. What was it?
A huge scarf which I could totally wear as a poncho.
Who do you think dresses well?
I think Paris always looks pretty good, especially because nine times out of 10 she doesn’t wear jeans. And jeans are the staple of the American woman’s wardrobe.
What do you think of Sienna Miller’s style?
I don’t like it. I don’t like Kate Moss’ style either. I like Chloe Sevigny. I think she has more of an understanding and an appreciation of fashion. You would think that Kate would too, but most of the time Kate does not look that good.
You're a big fan of Angelina. She's beautiful, but her style isn't that exciting.
I don’t think she wants to be that exciting. She is an inspiration to American women on how to be chic yet comfortable. She doesn’t stray from her comfort zone that often. She knows what's good for her. She’s very classic.
What about Victoria Beckham?
Most of the time Victoria Beckham looks like a hooker. But she’s really nice. Good sense of humor. I think David Beckham is much more stylish than she is. There is no man more stylish than David Beckham. You know Victoria spends too much time planning and pre-planning and trying to pick out a perfect outfit. She wasn’t born with that style gene. Whereas David just knows what looks good on him and what doesn’t.
What is it about Rumer Willis that annoys you so much?
Everything. I can't think of any redeeming qualities. You know, I feel partly responsible for creating that monster. No one was talking about her before I did. Now I regret it. I wish I had never talked about her in the first place.
Name some women you do admire.
Beth Ditto. She’s a good friend.
Must be lonely at the top of the blogosphere. Who's in your inner circle?
My friends. I wouldn’t say any celebrities. I mean, I am “friends” with some of them, but I don’t really care about becoming close to celebrities. Sometimes you end up becoming friends, but that’s not something that is premeditated.
Did Lance Bass ever forgive you for outing him?
I don’t know. You have to ask him. But I think he is happier now than when he was in the closet.
So, are you planning on owning L.A. Fashion Week?
Not really, because L.A. Fashion Week sucks. There should be no L.A. Fashion Week. I mean, do we really need 20 designers showing jeans? Do we really need 20 designers showing fucking hoodies and track suits and all that? No!
Oh.
Having said that, I am also a big media whore, and I’ve been asked to walk in one of the shows. So I may do that. But I can't tell you which show.
OK. Well, let’s talk about your hair, then.
I’ve had a lot of different colors. It's kind of reddish pink right now. I have a wonderful colorist, Kim Vo at B2V salon. He is amazing. I have been going there like two years. When I first started with him, we didn’t really do bright colors. We did black, we did a couple different blonds, we did an auburn and a nice caramel honey. And I got bored and decided I wanted to be a bunch of different colors in 2007. And I have been blond, pink, blue, silver, green, orange and now I am kinda reddish.
You rocked a moustache for about a month. Did that change people’s reactions to you?
A lot of people hated it, but who cares? I don’t really care about people's reactions.
Caroline Ryder is style editor-at-large for Metromix Los Angeles.
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