Is Perez Hilton the Devil?

The profound reach of the web into our lives has raised some thorny philosophical questions. Did Al Gore invent the Internet? Where exactly is that series of tubes? Why do people gotta be haters hatin’, drinking the Hatorade? But perhaps the most hotly debated of all questions is this one: Is Perez Hilton the devil?

Perez, born Mario Lavandeira, has made a name for himself with his eponymous celebrity gossip blog. Defaced celeb photos are a staple – from drugs drawn on recovering addicts to bodily fluids on 15-year-olds — nobody escapes Perez’s poison pen. Perez clearly loves the celebrity culture he trashes, milking his own notoriety for not only a VH1 series, What Perez Sez, but a slot on Celebrity Rap Superstar. The self-proclaimed Queen of All Media happily defends both his tactics and his accuracy; on Ring My Bell, he actually assured a caller of the authenticity of a panty-less Lohan photo by swearing “on my dead father’s grave.” (Shortly before calling frequent outing target Wentworth Miller a “big homo.”) Perez even guaranteed Jimmy Kimmel that Fidel Castro was dead. (He wasn’t.)

When it comes to attacks, Perez gets as good as he gives; his copyright shenanigans have triggered lawsuits and a well-publicized falling out with YouTube. He’s been targeted by Joss Stone and National Lampoon, and keeps this SuperNews spoof in his own YouTube Favorites. He’s also triggered a backlash from the gay community for his a supposedly well-intentioned crusade to out closeted celebrities.

But he goofs around with fellow online celebs LisaNova and Ross Matthews, and he uses his vlog for good, too – drumming up awareness for favorite artists and causes. Perhaps he’s not all that bad…

Of course, he also appreciates a gift by calling the sender a crack ho, and regularly mocks Tina Chen, a Kansas teen who frequently uploads her performances of her favorite songs to YouTube. Chen reputedly has William’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder linked to developmental disabilities and mental retardation.

Yeah. Making fun of the developmentally disabled pretty much locks up that “devil” vote. Sorry, Perez.