Actor Matt Bomer is one of today's most sought-after stars, and is now headlining the hit Hulu sitcom Mid-Century Modern.
But nearly all big-name actors start out toiling in obscurity until they break through. For Bomer, that came with his role in USA's White Collar in 2009.
But his time leading up to his big break had an extra layer of difficulty that most actors don't have to deal with—not only being gay, but being outed against his will by Perez Hilton.
Bomer recently opened up to his friend and fellow actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his Dinner's On Me podcast about the experience of having his private life splashed about by Hilton in the 2000s.
Hilton was part of the blog revolution of the time that changed the scope and tenor of celebrity gossip and journalism, especially in terms of the depth of scrutiny that nearly all actors came under, whether they were household names or not.
Hilton's particular empire was built upon being as salacious, and often tastelessly cruel, as possible.
The explosion of blogs like Hilton's lined up right alongside the moment Bomer's career was really taking off—and it resulted in Hilton taking the opportunity to beat him to the punch on his own story.
He told Ferguson that Hilton outed him on his blog before he got a chance to discuss his personal life publicly.
“It was a time when folks could kind of take over your own personal narrative before you even had a chance to."
"I remember outlets like Perez Hilton talking about my personal life before I had ever had a chance to even do it myself. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to; I didn’t even have an opportunity to.”
Bomer said that he wasn't closeted in the first place in either his personal or professional life, frequently attending events with his then-boyfriend and now-husband Simon Hills.
But at the time that Hilton outed him, Bomer wasn't yet a big enough name that anyone was even asking about his personal life.
Hilton put it out there anyway, as he has become infamous for doing, which Bomer said felt wrong.
"It felt kind of unfair to me, that that was stolen by people who did have a microphone at the time."
Bomer would go on to publicly come out in 2012, and lose his starring role in the Superman franchise to Henry Cavill shortly thereafter, leading to speculation that his sexuality kiboshed his action hero career.
Hilton, on the other hand, became arguably the most powerful man in the blogosphere, which rapidly began to compete with and to some extent supersede even traditional Hollywood media in terms of its influence.
The often cruel approach he took toward celebrities became the order of the day at the time, and has since been reexamined as toxic and bullying by today's standards.
Hilton himself has apologized for his previous approach, particularly in regards to Britney Spears' very public mental health breakdown in the 2000s.
Following Bomer's comments, a very outspoken and angry reckoning about Hilton's legacy ensued on social media.
Things have worked out well for both men in the meantime, however.
Hilton has gone on to be the father of three children, Mario Armando Lavandeira III, Mia Alma Lavandeira, and Mayte Amor Lavandeira.
Bomer and Halls also have three children, Kit, Henry, and Walker, and he has since gone on to win a Golden Globe for his role in HBO's The Normal Heart as well as two Primetime Emmy nominations.
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