TV Newsman Goes Off On Perez Hilton
Sam Rubin, the resident entertainment reporter at KTLA News in Los Angeles, went off on gossip blogger Perez Hilton Tuesday after the online celebrity walked off the set Monday without fulfilling an agreement to appear on the station's "Morning News."
Rubin said on-air that Hilton was scheduled to appear on the show at 9:20 a.m. Monday but showed up at 8. When the blogger found out that he wasn't on for nearly an hour and a half, Rubin says, he went ballistic, saying he did not have time to wait -- that he had to update his site -- and that he could do the interview via Skype. "Perez Hilton got his chones in a super bundle yesterday," Rubin said.
"Perez said we lied about what happened here and he demanded a retraction," Rubin said. "Well demand this you talentless dope."
Rubin said the show's bookers explained that the scheduling misunderstanding was not their fault -- that the appearance was always set for 9:20 and that he should be looking at his own people -- that it was Hilton himself who asked for the booking in order to promote a book.
Hilton tried to bump into the schedule ASAP, Rubin said, but the show already had guests lined up, including Snoop Dogg. Rubin said the blogger yelled at KTLA staffers and refused an offer to use KTLA's newsroom computers to do his blogging. Rubin says he even personally offered his own office. To top it off, Rubin said, Hilton's publicist called back and asked to be rescheduled. "Absolutely," Rubin said, "when hell freezes over."
Rubin said Hilton should have honored his commitment to appear because "we promoted you here as being here."
He closed with this: "The 'KTLA Morning News' and yours truly have been here long before Perez Hilton upchucked onto the scene. And we will be here long after he slithers away."
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