The Internet Is in Crisis
This article examines the evolution of internet culture by reflecting on the career of gossip blogger Perez Hilton. It highlights the shift from the cruel, invasive celebrity culture of the 2000s to a modern digital landscape that is ostensibly kinder.
Why it matters
It provides a historical perspective on how digital media platforms have shaped public discourse and the treatment of celebrities over the last two decades.
For 15 minutes, the celebrity-gossip blogger Perez Hilton livestreamed his violent self-harm without anyone intervening.
Dina Litovsky / Redux August 7, 2026, 1:43 PM ET Share Save Almost 20 years ago, I had tickets to see Amy Winehouse perform in London, at a show that was canceled just an hour before it was scheduled to start. A friend and I went to a nearby hotel bar instead, and not much later, in walked Winehouse herself—tiny, grubby, and completely incoherent. She walked over to us and stared, her eyes both furious and vacant, until someone in her entourage came and dragged her away. I remember the person who flashed to mind in that bizarre moment: the gossip blogger Perez Hilton.
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