On August 4, 2026, Perez Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., harmed himself with a knife during a TikTok livestream, alarming many of his followers. This act was later recognized as a mental health crisis attempt. His sister, Barbara Lavandeira, called 911 when she found him bloodied and unconscious in the bathroom, a moment she later described as the most challenging of her life. Emergency responders quickly transported Hilton to the hospital, where he has faced significant public criticism since the incident. Recently released body camera footage has provided more insight into the events of that night, which some believe will stay with him forever. The footage shows Hilton being carried to an ambulance.
The body camera video obtained by TMZ captures Hilton being moved from his house to a stretcher and then into an ambulance. The footage, time-stamped shortly after 11 p.m., shows police and EMTs working at the scene. Hilton is visible for a brief moment as he is placed on the stretcher. While his face is blurred in the video, blood can be seen on the walls of his home as emergency crews attend to him. Barbara shared with Page Six that she could hardly recognize her brother when she found him in the shower, naked and covered in blood, holding a box cutter.
Barbara mentioned that she noticed a change in his eyes and quickly ensured that Hilton’s three children—Mario, Mia, and Mayte—who were present at the Miami residence, were safe. Afterward, she called for help and tried to stop the bleeding with towels. Those close to Hilton believe that his breakdown may have stemmed from a previous health issue. According to Page Six, his inner circle suspects that he was affected by post-sepsis psychiatric disorder, which can occur in up to half of sepsis survivors and lead to various physical and mental health problems for an extended time.
Earlier in March 2026, Hilton had spent three weeks in the hospital due to an ulcer caused by taking flu medication on an empty stomach, which led to an organ perforation and sepsis. Barbara explained that he had to undergo abdominal surgery, had fluids drained from around his lungs twice, and later faced further surgery for a blood clot. He had also been battling depression and checked himself into a hospital for mental health issues just days before the August 4 incident.
An insider told the Daily Mail that Hilton has no clear memory of the events leading up to the livestream but recalls feeling dread upon waking in the hospital, thinking he might have been in an accident. However, he cannot remember finding the knife or starting the livestream. The source stated that when he learned what happened, he felt deeply humiliated, asking himself why he chose to go live and do it so publicly.
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Source: Bored Panda, by Analice Couto