Does anyone else think that Perez Hilton is out of line and cruel in his response to Prejean's gay marriage opinion?

The article went on to extol Prejean for the same reason that Perez denounced her: her statement of a personal opinion. The article offered a devastating portrait of Hilton, averring that, "This is a man who has turned his weblog into a cash cow by writing about celebrities in a way which does not, shall we say, demonstrate charity. "In short, he is a controversialist and self promoter.

His work has been described by Rolling Stone (certainly not a bastion of conservatism) in this way: ’What he does with his blog mainly is scrawl nasty, snarky comments on pictures of young Hollywood-type celebrities. The article went on to note, "Questioned about the Christian faith of Carrie Prejean he showed how little tolerance he has for people with differing worldviews saying he did not want her ’talking about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, because that’s offensive. The article’s author then went on to call Hilton a "thug," though by that point the article was referring to Hilton by his original, non-stage name.

"There was a word used when I was young which in most dictionaries refers to a cruel ’ruffian’. The word was ’thug’. The article went on to compare the notion of an America where gay and lesbian families are free to marry with the "Bizarro World" of Superman comics, a cube-shaped planet where craggy-faced beings deliberately pursue cultural customs opposite to those that hold sway on Earth.

"We seem to be living in Bizarro World where defending marriage is considered to be such a problem that those who do so are increasingly censored, pilloried and verbally assaulted," the article lamented. Whether from a "Bizarro World" ethic, or from a mere difference of opinion, The Advocate Online saw Prejean’s answer as a "flub," and related how another Miss USA judge, Alicia Jacobs, was also the subject of "verbal assault" from "thugs," though in Jacobs’ case the insults, including death threats, arrived via email... because, The Advocate noted, Jacobs, herself a former Miss Nevada for the contest, had attempted to blog about the importance of accepting gay and lesbian families, and the urgent need of such families for legal recognition. Jacobs expressed sympathy for the contest’s winner, Kristen Dalton, who represented North Carolina in the pageant.

"The girl who actually became Miss USA has been put on the back burner, which is unfortunate because she deserves the limelight right now, and nobody’s talking about her," said Jacobs. Said Jacobs, "I think it was a completely relevant question to ask. "All of the judges’ questions were meant to be topical, and, my gosh, certainly gay marriage is topical.

"It’s an important issue and one that most states are talking about as we speak. Regarding her blog entry about the question and Prejean’s answer, Jacobs explained, "Well, it’s a very important issue to me. "First of all, I will tell you, that I am a hard-core, registered Republican--and proud to be one--but gay marriage and gay rights are paramount to me.

I have so many important people in my life who are gay. Jacobs expressed sympathy for the trials that gay families and gay individuals face. "I’ve lived some of their heartache and I’ve lived some of their victories and I’m passionate about it.

But the electronic assault Jacobs suffered for posting her pro-marriage equality views in the wake of the broadcast left her shaken. "I got a death threat--maybe more than one--and it was a very uncomfortable thing for me. "It was the first time in my life that I’ve had to deal with something like that, so I thought, for the time being, I would take the blog down.