AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

The Hollywood Reporter

Perez Hilton is getting fit.

That’s evident enough if you’re one of the millions of mostly twentysomething females who make his salacious salon for celebrity gossip a daily destination. Slowly but surely, a slicker, trimmer Perez is replacing the bloated, scruffy version that first rose to fame as Hollywood’s favorite online gadfly. “This summer I want to frickin’ jog shirtless in Malibu by the Fourth of July,” he pronounced in a video on PerezHilton.com.

But Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, is whipping more than just his body into shape; his brand also seems to be undergoing a subtle transformation.

He made his jogging goal public on a recently added video component to his site, which began running advertising this week. Hilton also has been logging plenty of TV time lately, making his debut on MTV’s “TRL” on Monday; he also has his own occasional series of branded specials on sister network VH1.

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