Perez Hilton has entered a residential treatment program focused on his mental health, his family said in a new statement posted to his website, more than a month after the celebrity blogger was hospitalized following an apparent self-harm incident on Aug. 4. The update marks the first substantive word on his condition since the immediate aftermath of the crisis.

The family said Hilton spent weeks in a hospital being treated for physical injuries before moving into residential care. They cautioned that no clear timeline exists for his return, and that he is expected to remain in the program for several more weeks, possibly longer, depending on his treatment team's assessment. "This was an important next step, but there's still a long road ahead," the statement read.

According to the family, Hilton still does not have access to his phone or laptop, and his contact with loved ones remains deliberately limited so he can concentrate entirely on recovery. They thanked the people who had continued to reach out with messages and well wishes since Aug. 4.

The statement also addressed what the family called false reports circulating online about his condition, and confronted the reaction from some corners of the internet. "Whatever anyone may think of 'Perez Hilton,' his past, or things he has said over the years, there's a real human being behind the name," the family wrote, using his legal first name, Mario. They described him as a father of three, a son, a brother and a friend who "reached a point where he was struggling so deeply that he thought the people he loved would somehow be better off without him."

The family acknowledged that the public is not obligated to forgive his past conduct, but drew a firm line at mockery. "No one has to forget his past or accept his apologies. But we hope we can all agree that celebrating someone's suicide attempt crosses a line," they wrote, noting that his three children came close to losing their father. Hilton's children remain safe and in the full-time care of their grandmother during his treatment.

Hilton, 48, was hospitalized Aug. 4 after Miami-Dade County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of an apparent self-harm incident during a TikTok livestream. His management team at Golden Artists Entertainment said at the time that they had been unable to reach him directly and that their priority remained his health and privacy.

Why this matters

Hilton rose to fame in the mid-2000s as one of the most aggressive voices in celebrity gossip blogging, a persona that made him a polarizing figure and, in recent years, a target of his own public reckoning. His family's statement speaks directly to a broader shift in how audiences treat mental health crises online, where the line between criticism of a public figure and cruelty toward a person in distress has grown increasingly blurred. It also highlights the strain on families navigating a loved one's recovery under intense public scrutiny.

For now, Hilton remains in treatment, with his family asking for privacy and patience as he continues what they describe as a long recovery.