[John Winn](/columnists/John+Winn)  
4/27/2009

Opens up about his feelings about fame and his activism.

According to the Associated Press, the man at the center of the Miss USA controversy was interviewed at a birthday gala on Monday and he was nothing if not unapologetic about his career.  
  
"I don't consider myself a celebrity," he said. "Because for every two people that likes me, there are 3½ that don't. I don't care if you don't like me--I just care if you still read my Web site."  
  
Hours earlier, Hilton, real name Mario Lavandeira, gave a no-holds barred interview on NBC's *Today* show, owning up to his comments during the *Miss USA* talent show and not taking back a word of it.  
  
"I said she was a dump (beep)," he said. "Well, you know what? What she said to me in that answer was that I am a second-class citizen that doesn't deserve full equality under the law."  
  
Hilton, who has been openly gay since interning as a media relations assistant at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has made opposition to Proposition 8 a public issue, criticizing it frequently on his blog, perezhilton.com.  
  
"I've always considered myself an activist--even when I was outing people. I did it because I believe in equality," he said. "If I'm gonna talk about a heterosexual celebrity that's having a secret relationship with someone else, I should do the same thing with a heterosexual celebrity."  
  
But he doesn't claim to be the point man for the gay community. He's just doing what he's done all alongbe himself. That has led to serious page views with 2.2 million unique viewers per month and 3.9 million globally. It is also serious money for Hilton and Henry Copeland, who runs advertising for the site. Together, the two rake in thousands a day, a far cry from the labor of love of most cash strapped blogs.  
  
But success hasn't gone to his head.  
  
"It definitely is affecting me for sure," Hilton said of his sudden fame. "But I don't care! I have a business manager. I let him handle the finances and all that stuff. I'm too busy working to be worried about any of those things. Plus, I still don't do it for the money."