Perez Hilton's sister, Barbara Lavandeira, has described finding the celebrity blogger naked, covered in blood and holding a box cutter at his Miami home on 4 August, shortly before he appeared to self-harm during a TikTok livestream and was taken to hospital.
'When I opened the door, my nightmare became a reality,' she said.
The account offers the clearest description yet of what happened before the livestream involving Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. His family previously said he remained under medical care after viewers contacted authorities about the broadcast.
The Miami-Dade sheriff's office confirmed that deputies responded to reports of a man 'livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media' before he was transported to a local hospital.
Perez Hilton's Sister Describes the Discovery
Lavandeira, who was visiting from California, said she became concerned after Hilton shut and locked his bedroom door, something she described as unusual. When she knocked, he told her he was fine, but she could barely hear him. After several further attempts to reach him, he stopped responding.
She unlocked the bedroom door and realised Hilton was inside the bathroom. He did not answer when she knocked again, even after she warned him that she would enter.
'When I opened the door, my nightmare became a reality,' Lavandeira said. 'Mario was standing in front of the shower, naked, cut up, covered in blood, with a box cutter in his hand.'
She said the moment was made more disturbing by his expression.
'What I can say with certainty is that I didn't recognise my brother when I looked at him. I saw it in his eyes. They didn't look the same. Then, a split second later, he smiled at me. It felt like I was staring at someone else.'
Lavandeira said she left the room, collected the car keys and told Hilton's three children to run to the car. She then called 911 and contacted a nearby friend, asking her to take the children away from the scene.
Her account underlines the family's earlier statement that Hilton's children, his sister and his niece were inside the home shortly before the public livestream. The family said the children were removed to protect them from witnessing further trauma and later asked the media and content creators to stay away from the property.
Lavandeira did not disclose every detail of the aftermath. She said some of what happened was still 'too painful, graphic and overwhelming' to discuss.
She later returned to the house while waiting for an ambulance and placed towels over Hilton to help stem the bleeding.
He had already lost a significant amount of blood but was still able to speak, although his voice was faint, she said. Hilton was then taken to hospital, while Lavandeira remained behind to speak with the crisis team.
Hilton's Recovery Remains Unclear
Hilton's family has said he is able to communicate and remains under medical care, but it has not provided a detailed public account of his injuries or his expected recovery.
A later update attributed to Lavandeira said his physical and mental recovery would take 'a lot of time,' adding that he had no access to a mobile phone, social media or the internet while receiving treatment.
The livestream was removed from TikTok, but recordings circulated on X and Instagram, prompting renewed criticism of the spread of graphic material online. The incident also exposed the grim speed with which a private medical crisis can become public content.
Viewers raised the alarm, yet the footage continued to move from platform to platform. That is the ugly contradiction at the heart of livestream culture.
Lavandeira also addressed online comments describing the incident as 'karma,' arguing that such remarks ignored the impact on Hilton's children and wider family.
She acknowledged that her brother had faced criticism for his conduct during the early years of his celebrity blog, but said he had publicly recognised the harm he caused and tried to change.
'I'm not asking anyone to forget or excuse any of that,' she said. 'I also understand that some people will always believe he hasn't done enough, despite his efforts.'
She added that Hilton should not be reduced permanently to the worst things he did in the past, while stressing that his children and mother were not responsible for his history.
The family's statements have asked for privacy as Hilton continues treatment. For now, the confirmed picture is limited, a serious mental health crisis, emergency medical intervention and a family attempting to protect three children from the fallout.
Everything else, particularly claims about the full extent of his injuries or the length of his hospital stay, should be treated cautiously until relatives or medical representatives provide an official update.
