Perez Hilton feels guilty for having cracked Spears in the past.
The famous gossip columnist has expressed his regret for his brutal past treatment of Britney Spears after the release of the documentary “Framing Britney Spears” which explains the pop star’s performance in the media. Social media was outraged after the series showed Hilton’s actions while the “Baby One More Time” singer was at the lowest point.
“I’m very sorry for almost everything I’ve said about Britney,” the 42-year-old media personality told “Good Morning Britain” on Monday. “Fortunately, hopefully, many of us become older and wiser.”
Twitterati had recently gutted Hilton for his scathing coverage at the height of the popularity of his gossip, which included calling Spears “unfit mother” after the umbrella incident with the paparazzi in 2007. He had also introduced infamous T-shirts. with the message “Why couldn’t it be Britney?” instead when actor Heath Ledger died in 2008.
“Perez Hilton commenting on Britney’s situation is totally inappropriate when she was the animator in sparkling head,” tweeted a critic.
“Once we release Britney, we must imprison Perez Hilton,” wrote another.
Some accused Hilton of only apologizing after his dirty clothes resurfaced. “@GMB it’s not good for everyone to apologize @Britney Spears now that this documentary has come out, ”they wrote. “This is the problem! I feel very sorry that I have had to deal with so much hate. @PerezHilton it was one of the worst! ”
Later in the interview, Hilton defended veteran journalist Diane Sawyer for a 2003 resurgent interview in which she grilled Spears for her breakup with then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
“Someone talked about briefly in this documentary, Diane Sawyer – a respected journalist, a good woman – but a lot of people paint her as a bad guy,” said Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. .
He continued, “I think a lot of fans and people just want to blame this person and that person, but it’s not as simple as that. There are real mental health issues at stake with Britney Spears.”
The columnist added that the criticism was hypocritical given the uncompassionate reaction to the recent mental breakdowns of rapper and former presidential candidate Kanye West.
Hilton joins a long list of celebrities apologizing to the “pop princess” for past transgressions amid the #FreeBritney movement on social media.
In the most publicized mea culpa, Justin Timberlake said he regretted his “ignorance” about Spears’ media treatment after his breakup with singer “Toxic” in 2002.
Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” video prompted a narrative that Spears, 39, tricked and broke his heart.