Here's what happened: On Sept., 7, during New York Fashion Week, when
Paris Hilton was riding in a cab with a gay male model, the two were
chatting about an iPhone app called Grindr. According to an audio tape
of the conversation, the friend told Hilton that Grindr, which
advertises itself as an "all-male location-based social network,"
enables quick meet-ups.
MORE: Paris Hilton: Gays 'disgusting,' most 'probably have AIDS'
"Say I log into Grindr, someone that's on
Grindr can be in that building and it tells you all the locations of
where they are and you can be like, 'Yo, you wanna (have sex)?' and he
might be on like, the sixth floor."
Paris responded: "Ewww. Eww.
... Gay guys are the horniest people in the world. They're disgusting.
Dude, most of them probably have AIDS."
RadarOnline released the audio, which was said to be recorded by the cab driver.
Shortly
after the tape was posted Hilton's publicist said her comments were
expressions of concern about the dangers of unprotected sex, not
homophobic slurs. In a statement to CNN Thursday,
the rep confirmed the recording was authentic, but said, "It was not
her intent to make any derogatory comments about all gays."
And last night, Hilton released a more formal apology to GLAAD.
"As
anyone close to me knows, I always have been and always will be a huge
supporter of the gay community. I am so sorry and so upset that I caused
pain to my gay friends, fans and their families with the comments heard
this morning ... I wish I could take back every word.
HIV/AIDS
can hurt anyone, gay and straight, men and women. It's something I take
very seriously and should not have been thrown around in
conversation.Gay people are the strongest and most inspiring people I
know. It is so wrong when people bully or put down others for being gay.
No one should have to go through that. Again, I am so sorry from the
bottom of my heart and I feel absolutely horrible. I hope that everyone
can accept my apology and know that it is not who I am or how I feel in
any way."
USA Today