Black Eyed Peas manager sued

Black Eyed Peas' tour manager is being sued by Perez Hilton.

The gossip blogger has launched a lawsuit against Polo Molina, seeking unspecified damages for "emotional distress", a breach of his civil rights, and the black eye he suffered as the result of an alleged assault in a Toronto club on Monday (22.06.09), which followed a dispute between the writer and the group's stars will.i.am and Fergie.

In a statement on his website, Perez - real name Mario Lavendeira - said he will donate any damages to lesbian and gay rights group Matthew Shepard Foundation to compensate for the "hurt" he caused branding will.i.am "a f****t" during their row, which sparked criticism from many gay rights groups.

Perez said in his online apology: "People make mistakes. I have made many in my life, but this past week I have made more than I can count on one hand.

"I am sorry. I have been filled with incredible sadness and regret.

"I am sorry that any good work I have done for promoting equality may be tainted by me reclaiming a hurtful word - that's been personally used against me and the gay community - to hurt someone that was verbally attacking me. It was stupid.

"The "F" word will never be uttered from my lips again. Just as others use the "N" word to insult and hurt - or as part of their everyday speech - I challenge them to remove it from their vocabulary as well."

However, he denied he made the comments after being attacked by Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), insisting he "could not care less" about their opinion.

Following the statement, a spokesperson for GLAAD said: "Perez Hilton's acknowledgement that words can hurt is an important step in the right direction, and while his change of tone is welcome, he still seems to be justifying the use of the slurs.

"A statement that stops short of apologising for and disavowing the use of that slur doesn't get us where we need to be - these are vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance that continues to put our community in harm's way.

"When someone from our community uses a far-reaching media platform to promote these kinds of slurs, it sends a message that it's OK to use these dehumanising words."

The group then called on the blogger to stop using "demeaning and defamatory language" against any group on his website.