Gossip blogger Perez Hilton, whose legal name is Mario Lavandeira Jr., was hospitalized on Tuesday night after appearing on a TikTok livestream naked, covered in a red fluid resembling blood, and holding what appeared to be a knife. TikTok has since attributed the stream’s delayed removal to a “moderator error.”
According to TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza, the platform’s automated moderation systems flagged the livestream within minutes of it starting, but the error caused a delay in both its removal and the subsequent ban of Lavandeira’s account. TikTok told WIRED the stream remained live for approximately 15 minutes. The platform did not respond to follow-up questions about the specific nature of the error or exactly how long it prolonged the stream’s availability.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls from viewers concerned about the content and dispatched a crisis response unit along with mental health professionals to Lavandeira’s home. A sheriff’s office detective confirmed to WIRED that the individual involved was Lavandeira.
Some social media users speculated the stream had been live for 30 minutes or more. Favazza denied this, saying it was up for roughly half that time and that subsequent streams by Lavandeira were cut within 90 seconds. TikTok also said it contacted law enforcement shortly after the stream was flagged.
TikTok’s content guidelines explicitly prohibit material depicting or promoting self-harm, and the platform states it uses a combination of automated systems and human moderation to enforce those rules. The company entered a new ownership structure in January 2026, with a joint venture taking over content moderation and data security responsibilities in the US.
The incident revives longstanding criticism of TikTok’s handling of self-harm content. In 2020, the platform faced scrutiny over a Brazilian man who livestreamed his own suicide, and also struggled to remove clips of Ronnie McNutt’s death, which had originally aired on Facebook Live.
Lavandeira’s manager, Dante Rusciolelli, said the team’s focus is “entirely on Perez’s health and well-being” and asked that his privacy be respected while he receives care.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Source: WIRED