TikTok blames moderator error for delayed Perez Hilton removal
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Gossip personality Perez Hilton, real name Mario Lavandeira Jr, was hospitalised after appearing naked and covered in what looked like blood, apparently wielding a knife, during a TikTok livestream. TikTok said the broadcast lasted around 15 minutes, and concerned viewers alerted police, prompting Miami-Dade County's sheriff's office to send a crisis response unit and mental health professionals to his home; the episode reignited criticism of TikTok's ability to police self-harm content in real time.
TikTok said its automated systems flagged the stream within minutes, but a "moderator error" delayed both its removal and the banning of Lavandeira's account, and it disputed claims the footage stayed up for 30 minutes, saying it was live for "half" that time and that later attempts were cut within 90 seconds. The company did not explain the nature of the error. It is not the first such incident: in 2020 a Brazilian man's suicide was livestreamed on TikTok, and clips of Ronnie McNutt's death on Facebook Live also spread on the platform. Lavandeira's manager declined to comment on TikTok's moderation, saying the focus was on Hilton's health and asking for privacy.
- Perez Hilton hospitalised after disturbing TikTok livestream showing apparent self-harm.
- TikTok blamed a "moderator error" for the removal delay.
- Incident renews scrutiny of TikTok's self-harm content moderation record.
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TikTok is a video-sharing app hugely popular for short clips and livestreaming, where anyone can broadcast to followers in real time. Perez Hilton is a well-known American gossip blogger and media personality with a large online following built over two decades of celebrity commentary. Livestreaming features on platforms like TikTok let creators broadcast unedited, in the moment, which is why moderating them for harmful content is especially difficult.
Platforms such as TikTok rely on a mix of automated detection systems and human moderators to catch content that breaches their rules, including material showing self-harm. When these systems fail or respond too slowly, distressing content can remain visible to potentially large audiences before it is taken down, which is what is said to have happened here. Such incidents raise questions about how well prepared social media companies are to protect both the people appearing in livestreams and those watching them.
This is not the first time TikTok has faced criticism over its handling of self-harm content during livestreams, with a case from 2020 often cited as an earlier example of the platform struggling to remove similar material quickly. That history is relevant context for understanding why this latest incident is drawing renewed attention to the platform's moderation practices.
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Originally published by Wired as “TikTok Says ‘Moderator Error’ Kept Perez Hilton Livestream Up”.