Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has alleged he was assaulted by a member of the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas during an after-party following the Much Music Video Awards held Sunday in Toronto.
Toronto police have arrested and charged a man following an investigation. They would not identify the victim of the alleged assault, but said it stemmed from an incident at 3 a.m. in a downtown Toronto night club.
According to Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella, the victim suffered minor injuries in an altercation.
Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, reported he was punched and bleeding after an altercation. He posted several messages to his Twitter page in which he identified his alleged attacker and called for his fans to call police.
“I'm in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please,” Hilton posted to his Twitter page around 3:30 a.m. Monday.
The incident was documented on the micro-blogging web site. A string of Twitter posts that began shortly after 3 a.m. documented the alleged incident.
• PerezHilton: I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke.
• PerezHilton: Still waiting for the police. The bleeding has stopped. I need to document this. Please, can the police come to the SoHo Met Hotel.
In a sign of the times, several notable celebrities responded to Hilton's cries for help, including singer Miley Cyrus, who was not in Toronto for the awards show.
Hilton had posted several messages throughout the MMVAs. The messages were unremarkable, until things took a decidedly bad turn around 3 a.m.
Will.I.am created his own Twitter account a few hours later to respond to Hilton's accusations.
“i just made a twitter account because it isnt [sic] cool for someone to blame you and blast you with lies...” the Black Eyed Peas front man said on Twitter.
Will.I.am posted an explaination and a video response where he issued another denial and called into question the veracity of Hilton's claims, noting that if he was that hurt, perhaps he should not have tweeted before seeking medical attention.
Not to be out done, Hilton posted his own video statement . On the video, he alleges that he was punched in the eye by Black Eyed Peas manager Polo Molina.
Toronto Police have charged 36-year old California resident Liborio Molina, 36, with one count of assault. He will appear in court on Aug. 5 at Old City Hall in Toronto.
