Personal Brand Image – Perez Hilton versus Carrie Prejan (Miss. California)

Over the past several years, the definition of marriage taught to the world since the dawn of time has come into question. In the United States alone, on the front of civil rights, activist groups have systematically gone state by state to introduce referendums and bills to make same sex marriage legal.

As the debate rages on about the ‘accurate definition’ of marriage, the battle lines have been drawn, especially recently, with a single question asked by Celebrity Gossip Blogger Perez Hilton to Carrie Prejan; more commonly known as Miss. California. Her exact words:

“I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anyone out there.”

This response of course resulted in Miss. California coming in a very close second in the Miss USA Competition. Some people agree with the decision, stating that Miss. California was not the best candidate to hold the title. Others have applauded what has been deemed as ‘bravery’ in stating her opinion. Whatever the case, people have formed their opinions including such so-called journalists as Perez Hilton, the self proclaimed ‘Queen of All Media.’

In recent interviews aired on such media outlets as CNN and MSNBC and on his own blog, Perez Hilton has went out of his way to make this issue larger then it really should be – taking what some might deem as the ‘low-road’ in calling Miss. California a ‘brainless b*****’ and then offering to take her out to a ‘cup of coffee’ to talk about the situation.

With the battle lines drawn in the sand, the court of public opinion has been weighing in on the subject – strongly supporting Miss. California. In a poll posted by Yahoo, 88% of respondents agree that ‘She should be praised for expressing her opinion’

View the Yahoo Poll here.

This in essence raises a question about Perez Hilton. Has he done himself more of a disservice by taking the ‘low-road’ in engaging in this debate?

After watching interviews with both Carrie Prejan and Perez Hilton on the news networks, people are siding with Carrie for a reason. Her personal brand is built on a combination of tolerance and belief that is grounded in a fair and balanced manner, which at the end would have made for a perfect choice for the title Miss USA.

Whereas Perez Hilton has resorted to tactics that make the National Enquirer look like Time Magazine.



At the end of the day, Perez Hilton might have done more damage to his cause then good.

On a side note, I applaud Miss California’s bravery in coming out on national television to state her beliefs. She represents the true ‘high’ road of opinion and to date, has handled this debate very effectively. From the answer she gave, to the interviews she has conducted, Carrie Prejan’s views has always centered on the fact that everyone is entitled to their opinions. To date, I do not see any justification in Perez Hilton’s attacks. Of course, if someone believes I am wrong, please feel free to correct me.