Perez Hilton Takes More Punches After Black Eyed Peas Fight

June 24, 2009 — -- Perez Hilton just can't catch a break.

After allegedly getting clocked in the eye by the manager of the Black Eyed Peas, the gossip blogger is now taking punches from gay rights activists and the celebrities he follows -- and he's fighting back.

Today in Los Angeles, Hilton filed a $25,000 lawsuit against band manager Polo Molina. He's seeking unspecified damages in excess of $25,000 for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to The Associated Press, the suit claims Molina attacked Hilton because he made critical comments about the Black Eyed Peas' new album.

Tuesday, Hilton issued an apology -- of sorts -- for calling Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am a "faggot" but defended his use of the anti-gay slur.

"The other night in Toronto, after feeling physically threatened by a verbally abusive will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, I chose the most hurtful word I know to hurl at him," he wrote on his blog. "I was in an out-of-the ordinary situation and used a word that I would not utter under normal circumstances. My intention -- however misguided it may have been -- was to stand up for myself and tell this belligerent man that I had enough of his badgering and was not going to continue to let him berate and intimidate me."

The openly gay blogger, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, caught heat from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, Monday for his use of the anti-gay slur.

"These are vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community," Rashad Robinson, GLAAD's senior director of media programs, said in a statement, adding that the organization had reached out to Hilton for an apology.

In response to Hilton's latest statement, Robinson said, "Perez Hilton's acknowledgement that words can hurt is an important step in the right direction, and while his change of tone is welcome, he still seems to be justifying the use of the slurs. ... Now that Perez Hilton has acknowledged that words can hurt, GLAAD calls on him to take this opportunity to reflect on his use of demeaning and defamatory language against many different communities on PerezHilton.com."

Hilton declined ABCNews.com's requests to elaborate on the feud.

John Mayer took to his Twitter page to make fun of Hilton's handling of the situation, which went down Sunday night after the MuchMusic Video Awards.

"I love that @perezhilton uses his cellphone to log on to twitter to post a tweet to ask his followers to call the police for him," Mayer tweeted Monday, initiating a string of back-and-forth messages with Hilton and other celebrity tweeters that ended with the singer calling the blogger a "dumb sh**."

Perez Hilton vs. Black Eyed Peas

According to The Associated Press, Molina turned himself into Toronto police Monday and was charged with assault. He's due in court Aug. 5. Hilton detailed his showdown with the band in a series of tweets posted on his official Twitter page early Monday morning:

--" I'm in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please."

-- "I was assaulted by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke."

--" Still waiting for the police. The bleeding has stopped. I need to document this. Please, can the police come to the SoHo Met Hotel."

--" I spoke to my lawyer. I really need to talk to the authorities. Please come to the SoHo Met Hotel. Have called the police. Need them here."

-- "The Toronto police are here now. Thank you. Please stop calling them."

will.i.am responded to Hilton's allegations via a video posted on Dipdive.com Monday. In it, the hip-hop impresario says Hilton "disrespected" fellow Black Eyed Peas member Fergie and called him a "faggot" when he asked Hilton to not be "blatantly rude" to the group.

Hilton fired back with his own nearly 12-minute long video, posted on his Web site Monday. Lying in bed, Hilton claims will.i.am accosted him multiple times over the course of the night, ranting about how Hilton should respect him and the Black Eyed Peas. Then he says the band's manager punched him in the eye three times. The visibly heated Hilton adds he was bleeding when he touched his eye after the incident.