Teresita Lavandeira, the mother of media personality Perez Hilton, has initiated legal action to secure temporary guardianship of his three children following his concerning livestream event, the Daily Mail reports.
The 48-year-old Hilton was hospitalized in Miami last Tuesday after emergency services responded to calls suggesting he might be in the midst of a suicide attempt.
The disturbing livestream, which the Daily Mail opted not to share, allegedly depicted Hilton covered in blood, purportedly from self-inflicted knife wounds.
Following the incident, his representatives released a statement reassuring the public that his children are in a safe environment and being looked after by close family members.
On August 7, just three days post-incident, Lavandeira filed a court petition in Miami, seeking temporary custody of Hilton’s children—Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, eight—per documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail has contacted Hilton’s representatives for comment.
Perez Hilton’s mother Teresita Lavandeira filed to obtain temporary custody of his three children in the wake of his shocking self-harm livestream
Three days after the incident, on August 7, Lavandeira submitted a petition in a Miami family court to temporarily assume custody of Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, eight
Hilton, 48, was taken to the hospital in Miami last Tuesday after the police received emergency calls alerting them to a potential suicide attempt; seen above in the hospital earlier this year
The day after Hilton was hospitalized, it emerged that his three children as well as his niece and his sister Barbara Lavandeira, 42, had been inside his Florida home in the minutes leading up to the livestream incident.
A statement shared to Hilton’s website has indicated his family ‘immediately fled’ to protect the children from ‘witnessing any further trauma’ when it was clear Hilton was having ‘a severe mental health crisis and harming himself.’
Hilton’s team revealed over the weekend that he had sustained ‘significant blood loss’ as well as unspecified ‘additional injuries.’
According to the update, the onetime celebrity gossip blogger would ‘require surgery in the coming days’ to treat his injuries.
The statement also confirmed that Hilton ‘remains hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act,’ a law that allows for involuntary hospitalizations.
Due to the conditions of his hospitalization and the Baker Act, they emphasized that the blogger’s ‘communication has been extremely limited and confined to immediate family, medical providers, and others directly involved in his care.’
The Baker Act – officially the Florida Mental Health Act – allows medical and mental health professionals, as well as judges and law enforcement officers, to involuntarily commit individuals for up to 72 hours if they are believed to be at risk of harming themselves or others.
Hilton’s team emphasized that his ‘condition remains serious but stable,’ explaining that his ‘treatment and recovery’ would be a ‘long process.’
Teresita is pictured with Hilton and his two older children attending the 2018 premiere of Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween in Los Angeles
Hilton had been hospitalized earlier this year in March, and had shared pictures of himself in a hospital bed while recovering from sepsis
They also shared that he had been able to spend time with his mother and sister on Friday.
Hilton’s team confirmed that his ‘children remain safe and are being cared for by immediate family.’
Surveillance footage from a neighbor’s house captured the moment when law enforcement arrived to Hilton’s residence in Miami last Tuesday after fans reached out to 911 over concern for his welfare.
Police cars could be seen puling up to the home not long after 7pm on Tuesday evening.
Law enforcement was seen trying to get Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., out of his home in the video.
A deputy was heard calling out: ‘Mario, it’s the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, please step out of the house.’
Clips taken from the footage, which the Daily Mail will not publish, appeared to show the media personality covered in blood while brandishing a knife.
The livestream video has since been taken down by TikTok, and his account has also been suspended.
Hilton’s team have confirmed he ‘remains hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act,’ a law that allows for involuntary hospitalizations; pictured in 2023 in Las Vegas
The livestream video has since been taken down by TikTok, and his account has also been suspended; seen in 2025 in Las Vegas
Later on Wednesday, it was revealed that Hilton’s three children as well as his niece and sister had been inside his Florida home at the time of the livestream incident.
In a previous statement shared to the star’s website, it said that his family ‘immediately fled’ to protect the children from ‘witnessing any further trauma’ when it was clear Hilton was having ‘a severe mental health crisis and harming himself.’
The message had read: ‘Our family cannot express enough our continued gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received during this incredibly difficult time.
‘The events of the past several days have been nearly unbearable for our family.’
‘Our highest priority right now is helping the children begin to heal from what they experienced. An important part of that process is allowing them to safely return home and begin rebuilding a sense of security and normalcy.’
Hilton’s family also requested for ‘privacy and space they need during this unimaginably difficult time’.
Perez Hilton’s team is speaking out and revealing the extent of his injuries in the wake of a disturbing livestream in which he self-harmed with a knife; seen in 2023
They added: ‘We will continue to provide updates on Perez’s condition through PerezHilton.com when we have additional information we are able to share. Again, thank you for your compassion, understanding, and continued prayers.’
Hilton had been hospitalized earlier this year in March, and had shared pictures of himself in a hospital bed while recovering from sepsis.
He had developed an ulcer after taking flu medication on an empty stomach, which then led to a 21-day hospitalization.
And just weeks later, the blogger faced another health crisis after experiencing ‘soreness and pain in one of my legs.’
Following an ultrasound, it was revealed that Hilton had a deep vein thrombosis.
‘I am so thankful to God that we caught this early because if that blood clot had gone to my lungs or my heart, it could have been real bad,’ he said on Instagram at the time.
He had developed an ulcer after taking flu medication on an empty stomach, which then led to a 21-day hospitalization; seen in 2025
He soon gave another update on social media to share that he was able to ‘finally walk again’ as he used the help of a walker.
Months before the distressing TikTok livestream, Hilton reflected on his health scares and admitted he thought he was ‘going to die’.
During an appearance on Fox News Media’s Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast, which had been recorded on July 14, he said, ‘I was in the hospital for 21 days, so I thought I was gonna die.
‘Especially because the first few days they couldn’t find where the perforation was and then I had all of these other issues. My body just started breaking down.’
He further explained, ‘I had fluid in my lungs. I went AFib. My heart issues. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
‘I’m 48 and I’ve never taken any kind of flu medication with food. And some medication, you don’t need to take with food. The flu medication you’re supposed to take with food.’
Hilton stated that he took both ‘Aleve and Tylenol’ on an empty stomach.
‘I know, I did that for a week, and I developed an ulcer and a perforation and here we are.’
He soon gave another update on social media to share that he was able to ‘finally walk again’ as he used the help of a walker
Hilton is dad to Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, eight, whom he welcomed via surrogate.
Hilton notably launched his celebrity gossip blog back in 2004 which was originally called PageSixSixSix.com. Shortly after, he changed the name to PerezHilton.com.
He has also befriended a number of Hollywood celebrities.
Back in 2021, Hilton admitted that he ‘regrets’ the way he covered Britney Spears’ breakdown in 2007.
He had garnered criticism for ‘bullying’ the Baby One More Time hitmaker after he previously called her an ‘unfit mother’.
He also released a shirt design on his website in 2008 which questioned why the pop star didn’t die instead of Heath Ledger.
The shirt had an image of Ledger from his role in Brokeback Mountain as well as the words: ‘Why couldn’t it have been Britney?’
‘I regret a lot or most of what I said about Britney as I’m sure Piers [Morgan] would if he were here about things he’s said in the past,’ Hilton said during an interview on Good Morning Britain.
The media personality added that he has grown over the years and expressed, ‘Thankfully, hopefully, many of us get older and wiser.’
If you or someone you know needs help in the US, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. If you are in the UK, call Samaritans at 116 123 for free. If you are in Australia, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800.