Perez Hilton says a recent, very real brush with death turned him into a believer. Kristen Johnston heard that and basically said: cool, now go fix what you broke.
Kristen Johnston wants action, not just a testimony
In since-deleted Threads posts on Wednesday, March 25, Kristen Johnston, 58, revisited a brutal stretch of her life: years of opiate addiction that left her physically wrecked, a long road to getting clean, and a year where she was severely underweight, nauseous, and barely able to eat. She even wrote a memoir about it, 'GUTS.'
What still stings, she says, is how Perez Hilton piled on during that recovery window, mocking her appearance and touching off a follower dogpile. Hearing that Hilton, 48, recently got seriously ill and says he has found God brought all of it back for her. She wishes him health, sure. But also this:
'If he is truly changed, I hope it goes beyond words and he tries to make amends for his cruelty. I know he hurt a lot of people.'
For context: Johnston is best known for 'Third Rock from the Sun' (she won an Emmy for it) and also popped up on 'Sex and the City.' She is not wrong about Hilton going after women and girls in the 2000s. That was the brand.
What actually happened to Hilton
Hilton posted a long video on Monday, March 23, explaining why he landed in the hospital. Short version: he kept taking medicine for a stomach flu without eating, which he says led to an ulcer, a perforation, and then sepsis. He did not sugarcoat how bad it got.
'People die of sepsis,' he said, recalling that the pain got so severe he could not walk the next morning and had to be taken by ambulance.
Doctors performed laparoscopic surgery. He had an NG tube threaded from his nose to his stomach to suck out bile and infection — twice in the first week — plus a Foley catheter. Being stuck in bed that long left him weak, swollen, and noticeably thinner. He is back home now but says he is not back to full strength yet.
The faith turn
Hilton says the experience changed him spiritually. He was raised Catholic and did seven years at a Jesuit school, but never considered himself a believer. Now he does.
'God presented himself to me,' he said, calling what happened 'miraculous' and 'life-changing.'
Reactions from people who remember the old Perez
- Comedian Elayne Boosler: 'Poor Jesus gets stuck with all these assholes.'
- DJ Samantha Ronson, who took a lot of heat from Hilton back in the day: 'F*** him forever.'
- Actor Lauren Holly to Johnston: 'How brutal. I am sorry you went through any of that. You are so strong.'
Zooming out
This is not the first time Hilton has tried to reckon with his past. In 2021, he told Sky News he carries 'deep shame and regret ' for mocking Britney Spears and others, and admitted he cannot just chalk it up to being young and dumb. Fair. The internet has a long memory, and the people on the other end of those posts had to live with the fallout in real time.
So yes, health scares change people. If Hilton is serious about that change, Johnston is asking for something specific: not statements, but amends.