Perez Hilton is recovering in a Florida hospital after a bloody TikTok livestream in which the celebrity blogger, 48, appeared naked and repeatedly harmed himself with a large butcher's knife before police arrived.
Hilton, bandaged in gauze, is emerging from a period of confusion in which he believed it was 2016, and is now beginning to confront what happened that night, according to a Daily Mail insider.
"Hilton is convinced that he was under spiritual attack. This is spiritual warfare," the insider said. "He believes that the devil is not happy that he became a Christian, and was doing whatever to attack him."
The source added that it is "Biblical that the closer one draws to Christ, the more the enemy will attack," and said Hilton believes that is exactly what happened to him.
Doctors have stitched up dozens of cuts Hilton sustained during the incident, and broken bones reportedly caused by a fall have left him with limited mobility. He has been hospitalized under Florida's Baker Act, which allows for the temporary and involuntary detention of individuals in a mental health crisis.
His phone and internet access have been taken away, leaving his world reduced to hospital treatment, prayer and the Bible. "He's reading his Bible and praying while getting treatment," the insider said. "Leaning on Christ like never before. He's really leaning in."
Physically, his wounds are "healing up well - better than expected," the source said, adding that the progress has given Hilton "some real encouragement."
The March conversion
The spiritual dimension to Hilton's recovery traces back to March 2026, when he posted an emotional Instagram video revealing he had found God after a health crisis that began with a stomach ulcer and severe sepsis, followed by a readmission for deep-vein thrombosis.
"God presented himself to me," Hilton said through tears in the video. "I could only call it miraculous. And I was very lucid. It was real. And this has been life-changing. I'm so grateful."
He said he had grown up Catholic, been baptized, made his Communion, been confirmed and attended a Jesuit school for seven years, "but I was never a believer until now." He said God had instructed him to sell his $4 million Las Vegas home and move to Miami, and he vowed to start taking his three children to church.
An apology to Hollywood
A week later, Hilton posted a second video apologizing for the bullying and humiliation he had inflicted on celebrities throughout his career on his gossip blog.
"I made a lot of mistakes in my past. We all have. Nobody's perfect," he said in the nine-minute clip. "But my mistakes are very public. I carry with me deep shame and regret. I'm sorry. I will continue to apologize." He said he had reached out to make amends with dozens of people, publicly and privately.
"Because I was so selfish, because I didn't care who I hurt, I just cared about the views, the attention, the money - people hated me," he continued. "And last week, since I've been home, I haven't been getting as much hate, and I've been getting love and prayers."
His children and custody
Hilton's three children, Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, eight, were at the house when the self-harm incident began. They were rushed outside by Hilton's sister, Barbara, who was also home at the time, though it remains unclear how much they saw before being taken to safety. The children have not visited their father since, with a source close to the family saying his injuries remain too distressing for them to see.
The insider said the livestream has forced Hilton to reassess the darkest parts of his life. "Before, he was feeling like the world would be better off without him; he's not there anymore," the source said. "He understands that his kids need him, his family needs him, and he has worth."
A Miami judge has granted Hilton supervised hospital visits while his mother, Teresita, holds temporary custody. He must first obtain psychiatric clearance, and any contact must be supervised by an approved family member or therapist.
A career on hold
Before the crisis, Hilton had reportedly been trying to build a life beyond the Perez Hilton blog, which found fame in the mid-2000s for its withering celebrity takedowns but has since lost much of its influence. Pitches for reality TV series about his life were said to have stalled before they got off the ground.
Website traffic surged after the livestream but the morbid curiosity did not last, with a source saying visitors quickly fell away. His small team has since returned to posting celebrity news, though it remains to be seen whether readers will come back in force or whether Hilton will be well enough to resume running the site.
Cut off from his phone and the internet, Hilton is keeping one connection switched on. "He prays all the time. He is still very connected to God after his near-death experience, and he is hoping his guardian angels will guide him towards better health, both mental and physical," another source close to the star told the Daily Mail.
