In the Perez Hilton vs. will.i.am battle, a 36-year-old California resident has been charged with assaulting the celebrity blogger in the wee hours of the morning.
Liborio Molina faces one count of assault and will appear at Toronto's Old City Hall court on Aug. 5.
In a video posted on his website, Hilton said Molina is the manager of Black-Eyed Peas band - of which Will.i.am is a vocalist - and "clocked" him in the eye and punched him "two-three times" shortly after 3 a.m. outside Cobra nightclub on King St. W.
Hilton, who also called will.i.am a liar, said it was not a random fan who attacked him but Molina, "who I have met before."
But in his own video posting, will.i.am flatly denied all allegations, calling them lies. "This is very wrong... that you are tweeting that I did this," he said. "Once again, you are disrespecting me (and) all that I stand for."
The high-profile drama started after last night's MuchMusic Video Awards, where Hilton was a presenter and Black-Eyed Peas performed.
According to Hilton, Fergie, a member of the Black-Eyed Peas, walked up to him at a post-awards party at Ultra, a nightclub on King St. W., and asked him why he was being mean to her (on his website). Hilton says he had a brief conversation with Fergie and then left for Cobra. The Black-Eyed Peas arrived soon afterwards and Hilton says will.i.am walked up to him and said: "I need you to never write about my band on your website again."
Hilton says there was a brief exchange of words and then he left the club. But will.i.am was outside, says Hilton, and that's when he was attacked. "I was in shock," said Hilton in the video. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."
He tweeted almost immediately after the alleged incident, claiming in a 4 a.m. posting that: "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."
Publicists for will.i.am did not return calls immediately, but the rapper, in a video statement posted on his Twitter account, gave a very different account of the events. He said he was asking Hilton to be not so blatantly rude to Fergie and that Hilton called him a "faggot." That's when, says will.i.am, a fan punched the blogger.
"Instead of calling police, you tweeted that I assaulted you," said will.i.am, whose real name is Will Adams. "Sounds like somebody needs mad attention and is not concerned about his health."
Barely hours after the alleged assault and Hilton and will.i.am posting their videos, cyber space was running amok with comments and opinions.
Even American Idol host Ryan Seacrest got involved, inviting both parties to talk it out on his radio show.
"I am sorting thru this drama wih perez and will.i.am! Have u heard? Perez need u to call radio show to clear this up. Will caall radio show," Seacrest tweeted on his Twitter page (www.twitter.com/RYANSEACREST).
Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, runs the celebrity blog www.Perezhilton.com
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Re:Blogger get punched!
Date: 2009/06/23 20:42
By: iluvgossip
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Blogger Perez Hilton and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am are already embroiled in a war of words over a fracas following Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards last night. Now the lawyers are getting involved.
Bryan Freedman, whose aggressive representation of Hilton (aka Mario Lavandeira) has resulted in a few recent court victories against paparazzi agencies and others, is threatening Will.I.Am with legal action if he is found to have assaulted the blogger or encouraged manager Polo Molino to do so.
"Perez will take legal action against anyone who chooses to resort to physical violence as a means to respond to criticism they do not like," Freedman writes us in an email. "It is my understanding that criminal assault charges have been filed against the band’s manager, Polo Molino, and we are conducting a legal investigation as to whether Will.I.Am encouraged and/or instructed Molino to engage in this physical assault."
Hilton took to Twitter and an expletive-laden video posted on his website today to lash out at Will.I.Am and posse for allegedly tracking down the blogger at an MMVA afterparty. Hilton was allegedly punched in the eye. Will.I.Am claimed in his own video that it was a fan that struck Hilton. But Freedman sounds skeptical.
"Rest assured that anyone who physically assaults Perez Hilton or encourages others to do so because they cannot handle a little criticism will be sued as quickly as I can type," he writes. "His first amendment rights will not be infringed upon through fear, intimidation or violence."
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Re:Blogger get punched!
Date: 2009/06/25 21:31
By: KatiePery
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Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas has released a statement regarding Sunday’s Perez-Toronto incident. Check out his message of respect:
I will not continue to comment specifically on the incident that happened in Toronto last weekend… But I would hate for my silence to be misconstrued… I do not condone harassment or violence of any kind…
No one deserves physical abuse… And no one deserves verbal abuse… No one deserves that…
Everyone needs to be respected… And no ones name should be slandered in the name of hate and disrespect… And fyi…â€not every black man is a thugâ€â€¦
As far as character allegations made against myself, The members of the Black Eyed Peas, And members of our management… I believe that the truth will speak for itself once the details of the events are fully presented.
Hateful slurs… Racial or gay should not be used as verbal weapons to provoke violence…
Let us all learn from the events that happened in Toronto… That situation has already taken valuable time, energy, And attention away from more important, And in some cases, devastating issues happening in our world. Thank you… will.i.am
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