Perez Hilton's statement

Perez Hilton has put out a new statement about his little contretemps with Will.I.Am. from Black Eyed Peas. You can read the original story about Perez and his beating in the Perez Hilton assaulted video post.

Here's the beginning of Hilton's statement:

From the heart:

"Words can hurt. I know that very well, from both sides of the fence. The other night in Toronto, after feeling physically threatened by a verbally abusive Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, I chose the most hurtful word I know to hurl at him. I was in an out-of-the ordinary situaton and used a word that I would not utter under normal circumstances. My intention - however misguided it may have been - was to stand up for myself and tell this belligerent man that I had enough of his badgering and was not going to continue to let him berate and intimidate me. I wanted to hurt him with the word I chose, not anyone else. Unfortunately, the one who got hurt was me and, subsequently, a lot of other people.

Then the rest of it seems to descend into an orgy of self-justification.

Perez old bean, when you've just been punched for calling someone a "fucking faggott" the correct thing to do, the adult thing, is to say, "I'm terribly sorry, I can't imagine what came over me. Please do accept my apologies."

Then offer to shake hands and put it behind you. You might need a piece of steak for the black eye but that is still the way that grown ups are supposed to behave.

There are many ways to deal with disagreements, both good and bad, but violence is never the answer. Never. I now know that first-hand. It should not be condoned, promoted or accepted. No one "deserves" to be the victim of violence. No one "has it coming." NO ONE. And victims should not be ridiculed. I look forward to marching for equality in Washington, D.C. this October.

Not quite got it, have you?