Perez Hilton’s family have said that his children were forced to flee during his distressing TikTok livestream.
In the stream, which was removed from TikTok after 15 minutes, Hilton allegedly appeared to be shown harming himself, prompting concerned viewers to alert emergency services.
According to authorities, officers found the 48-year-old celebrity blogger alone inside the property when they arrived.
But a new statement posted to Hilton’s website has confirmed that his three children were in his Florida home ‘minutes’ before his livestream.
Hilton welcomed his three children via surrogacy. His eldest son Mario was born in 2013, followed by two daughters, Maya and Mayte, in 2015 and 2017.
In the new statement, shared on Thursday, Hilton’s family expressed their gratitude for the ‘overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers’ in what has been an ‘incredibly difficult time’.
The statement continued: ‘The events of the past several days have been nearly unbearable for our family.
‘Just minutes before the public livestream incident, Perez’s children, niece, and sister were inside the home.
‘When it became clear that Perez was experiencing a severe mental health crisis and harming himself, they immediately fled to protect the children from witnessing any further trauma.’
The statement went on to say: ‘Our highest priority right now is helping the children begin to heal from what they experienced.’
Hilton’s family said that a crucial part of that will be his children returning to their Florida home to ‘rebuild a sense of security and normalcy’.
They went on to request members of the public and media to leave the area surrounding the home, asking: ‘Please allow his children the privacy and space they need during this unimaginably difficult time.’
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office told CNN they ‘received multiple calls regarding an individual who was livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media’.
The crisis response unit and licensed mental health professionals were dispatched to the scene and provided support for Hilton’s family.
They also added that Hilton was ‘safely recovered’ and hospitalised. The celebrity blogger’s family have said he is ‘able to communicate’ now.
TikTok has released a statement explaining why the video remained on the social media platform for 15-20 minutes, citing a ‘moderator error’ to Deadline.
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