The remarks came during the latest episode of Tea Time with Raven & Miranda, which Raven co-hosts with her wife, Miranda Maday.
They were chatting with actor and comedian Brendan Scannell when the conversation turned to the worst criticisms they’ve received as public figures.
“It’s interesting,” Raven began. “When you are in the public eye and when you are dressing or when you play a character, you are just open to critique from everyone and they mama, no matter what.”
Raven then shared one particularly hurtful comment that stays with her to this day. “I got called a poodle,” she said. “My hair was so curly, Perez Hilton called me a poodle.”
A disbelieving Brendan asked, “He called you a poodle?”
Raven confirmed, recalling, “Yeah, he said she looks like a [poodle].”
When Brendan said that it was “probably at the height of his career,” Raven replied, “It was. But it was also kind of racist.”
Miranda recalled how “mean” Perez was back then — behavior that includes outing celebrities and mocking stars like Britney Spears during personal challenges — and mentioned that he has since apologized for much of it. That’s when Raven quickly cut in to say, “Never apologized to me.”
“We need an apology, Perez,” Raven continued, blaming the blogger for kickstarting the culture of mean, pervasive celebrity gossip.
She appeared to be referring to a 2008 post on Perez’s blog about one of her looks at the time. Titled “A Poodle Died On Her Head,” the post read, “There is no excuse for that hair! Come on, girl. You must have some Disney money in the bank. Can’t you afford better hair???” It also used offensive language while taking aim at Raven for “having drag queen makeup.”
Shortly after the clip was shared on her podcast’s Instagram page, Perez did, in fact, comment with an apology.
He wrote, “I am sorry. This is one of a long list of regrets. I carry with me deep shame for much of my past.”
Raven’s remarks come just four months after Tallulah Willis also called out Perez for criticizing her appearance on an outing with her dad, Bruce Willis, when she was just 14 years old. While Perez didn’t appear to publicly address those remarks, he has repeatedly apologized for his past behavior as a whole.
“A lot of what I did during that time was reprehensible and toxic,” Perez — now a father of three — told BuzzFeed News in 2021. “But that wasn’t everything. I wasn’t just nasty and mean and cruel and hurtful. I was also positive and supportive.”
You can watch the podcast clip here — then share your thoughts in the comments below.
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