TikTok has faced a backlash for not acting faster to remove disturbing footage posted by Perez Hilton appearing to show him self-harming on a TikTok livestream.
On Tuesday night, August 4, 2026, the celebrity blogger broadcast a deeply alarming TikTok Live where he appeared unclothed, covered in a red fluid resembling blood, and engaged in self-harm with a knife
He was eventually taken for treatment after police received ‘multiple’ calls from concerned fans about his behaviour on the broadcast.
While automated systems flagged the content, a ‘moderator error’ delayed its removal, leaving the broadcast active for up to 30 minutes before intervention.
Though TikTok has since said it was there for ‘about half that time’. Hilton’s TikTok profile has since been suspended.
Clips taken from the video, which EmmanuelsBlog will not publish, appeared to show Hilton covered in blood while brandishing a knife.
Officers from the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office rushed to the 48 year old’s home, before he was transported to a local hospital.
People have now criticised TikTok for allowing the footage to be aired – and warned of the potentially harmful effect on viewers, including youngsters using the video platform.
Bertie Aspinall, an advisor to the UK Government on the Online Safety Act, today told the Daily Mail: ‘This is yet another example of extremely harmful content being broadcast to children.
‘We know that livestreams are workarounds for blocking content, and yet Kick, TikTok, Instagram etc all continue to promote it.
He said of TikTok: ‘Many of our users are now abstaining from it entirely. This is a great example of how you need to be able to block content in live time. Like we do.
‘Content like this has no place at all, not just online, but in society and not only is this very sad for the family and individual involved, but it could be the start of another worrying trend that kids should never see.’
