Perez Hilton death hoax spreads online after hospitalization

On Aug. 4, 2026, the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., went live on the social media site TikTok for roughly 15 minutes. He was holding a knife and his torso appeared be covered in blood. Statements from Hilton’s family later confirmed that his wounds were self-inflicted. Police responded to the home, according to People magazine, and Hilton was taken to a hospital. 

In the wake of the incident, posts spread online claimng Hilton had died from his injuries. 

(X user @PopBaseUpdates)

Snopes readers wrote in and searched the site looking for more information.

We found no evidence supporting the claim that Hilton had died because of his injuries, as of the time of publication. At least one account spreading the claim was a parody account of the celebrity news page PopBase, though we were unable to determine whether this was the origin of the rumor. Given the lack of evidence, we rate the claim false. 

Since the TikTok incident, Hilton’s family has released three public statements on his website, two of which contained updated information about his medical condition. The first simply stated that he was receiving medical attention, while the second noted that his family still had little information about his condition but could confirm that Hilton was able to communicate with providers. All three statements thanked Hilton’s fans for their support and prayers, while asking everyone to respect his privacy. 

Snopes contacted Hilton’s team to ensure we would receive any additional updates about Hilton’s condition.

Sources