What We Know About Perez Hilton's Live-Streamed Mental Health Crisis—and TikTok's Response

This story originally appeared on The Advocate.This story discusses self-harm.Perez Hilton was hospitalized Tuesday night after viewers reported an apparent self-harm crisis unfolding during a TikTok livestream from his Miami-area home.TikTok’s automated systems flagged the broadcast within minutes and sent it to the company’s U.S. moderation team, a TikTok U.S. spokesperson told The Advocate. A moderator error then delayed the removal, the spokesperson said. The Advocate is not publishing or linking to the livestream, still images from it, or the emergency dispatch audio.TikTok disputes reports that the original broadcast remained online for 30 minutes, saying it lasted about half that long. The company alerted law enforcement in an effort to get Hilton, 48, support, according to the spokesperson. TikTok subsequently ended several additional livestreams within 90 seconds of their beginning and banned Hilton’s account.The spokesperson said the material violated TikTok’s Community Guidelines.The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said it received multiple calls about a person livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media. Deputies “quickly located” Hilton’s residence, spoke with family members at the scene and confirmed that he was alone inside, Detective Samantha A. Choon, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told The Advocate.Deputies initially did not force their way into the home. Instead, they sought to slow the encounter and create opportunities for communication, the department said.“In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritize de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication,” Choon said. “Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilizing crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimize the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the publi