‘I didn’t know’: Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki takes down Perez Hilton post amid backlash

In classic social media fashion, things escalated quickly for Jared Padalecki this week. The Supernatural actor waded into controversy after a well-meaning post about notorious gossip blogger Perez Hilton—and then had to scramble to walk it all back.

The Post and the Fallout

This all started when Padalecki hopped onto X (you know, "formerly Twitter", as if the rebrand fooled anyone). He’d spotted the news that Perez Hilton had been hospitalised—Hilton reportedly harmed himself on a TikTok livestream—and wanted to offer a voice of support. Notably, Padalecki mentioned his own experienced run-ins with mental health. Cheering Hilton on, Padalecki said he hoped Perez was being kind to himself and encouraged him to find support close by. It was all generally compassionate, open-hearted stuff—at first glance, anyway.

Padalecki tweeted: 'Hey @PerezHilton. Just wanted to reach out and let you know that you’re in my thoughts. This "being human" is a strange thing. Exhilarating. Exhausting. Fast. Slow. Wonderful... And... at times... awful. I hope you are trying as best as you can to be kind to yourself right now.'

He rounded it off with a nudge for Hilton to gather those who care around him, and finished on: 'This too shall pass. You got this.'

But the internet, being itself, didn’t take long to intervene. Followers, fans and critics quickly pointed out the seriously chequered history attached to Perez Hilton’s name—think years of bullying and controversy during his blogging heyday. The backlash rolled in, and it wasn't just the usual noise: plenty of people were genuinely hurt by the idea that Hilton deserved public support, even during a personal crisis.

Walking It Back, Explaining Himself

Padalecki deleted his original posts as the outcry gained traction. He then returned to X to explain the move, and frankly, seemed more than a bit mortified by what he’d inadvertently got himself into. First, he copped to the blunder, bluntly admitting:

In Padalecki's words online: 'I didn’t know. It’s been brought to my attention. I’m sorry.'

He later expanded on the whole episode. Padalecki said that, while he’d vaguely known of Hilton’s reputation and even heard that Hilton hadn’t exactly been charitable about him either, his instinct is usually to default to grace—offering forgiveness, no matter the history. His rationale was plain: in his life, showing people grace and moving on usually made for a happier outcome than holding grudges. But, as he put it, he 'TRULY didn’t know ANYTHING about the extent to what he has done. That’s my bad.'

He wrapped up by apologising to anyone hurt by his words, urging fans to take care of themselves—no hard sell, just a straightforward mea culpa.

• Jared Padalecki has previously spoken about his own depression, notably during his Supernatural years.
• Perez Hilton remains in hospital following the livestream incident, with no further public update on his condition.
• Hilton’s blogging career has been dogged by years of backlash for controversial and often cruel celebrity coverage.