Perez Hilton takes on Robertsdale 'Panic Back in Hispanic' controversy: 'Ridiculous justifications'

Celebrity gossip columnist Perez Hilton is joining dozens of national media outlets weighing in on a controversial sign displayed Friday at a Robertsdale high school pep rally.

The TV star Tweeted about it twice over the weekend and on Wednesday, in comments to AL.com, said the girl's rationale for the sign's display was "ridiculous."

Hilton's comments take aim at a now-viral photo of a girl, holding up a homemade sign that reads: "Put the Panic in Hispanic." The girl is standing next to a schoolmate who is holding up a President Donald Trump campaign sign that reads: "Make America Great Again."

"I've read up on this student and I don't care that she comes from a liberal family, I don't care that she comes from smart parents who purposely hired a Latino lawyer," Hilton said. "I care even less about the ridiculous justifications for her sign."

The 16-year-old girl's lawyer, Domingo Soto of Mobile, said on Tuesday that the girl's family are big supporters of Bernie Sanders, and that the sign wasn't meant to be racist. The girl, in her rationale for making the sign, said it was directed at Spanish Fort High School - Robertsdale's opponent on Friday - whose nickname is the "Toros."

"Who cares what Perez Hilton says?" said Soto. "I'm so tired of talking about this thing. It's way beyond what's called for."

Soto said he is a "family friend" of the girl's parents, and was contacted by them after the now-infamous picture first surfaced online. He described his representation of the girl as "pro bono," and initially thought the incident might be "no big deal."

He said he was contacted by a friend who suggested he may want to get involved. Soto, who is Hispanic, is a civil rights lawyer.

"I'm a family friend more than I am their lawyer," Soto said. "She didn't choose me because I'm Hispanic. The apology was initiated on her own."

Soto has since described the incident as a "lapse in judgement" on behalf of the girl. He has said it's a "teachable moment" for her on issues of white privilege and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which has been a politically-charged issue in recent weeks.

Hilton called it a "huge lapse in judgement," and added that the girl's apology should've included references to God.

"I made a video recently giving advice to (actor) Kevin Hart and in my advice is that he should've mentioned 'God,'" Hilton said. "God forgives everything for people who mention him. The lawyer could say that she made a huge lapse in judgement, is so repentful and ask God and her community for forgiveness and has deep shame and will actively work to heal the wounds this has caused starting by volunteering at so-and-so and her parents will be donating money to so-and-so. That would've been a much stronger and effective approach."

Soto said he's attended meetings the girl has had with school officials in recent days, but not in an "adversarial" position. He said he's attended to ensure the girl's story was being accurately conveyed to Baldwin County school officials.

"The school board, the school and the pupil and all the kids who go to (Robertsdale) are in the same boat ... we are being tarnished unfairly," Soto said, referring to the Internet outrage that has surfaced since Saturday. In recent days, national news organizations such as BuzzFeed and BET have picked up the story. BET's version of the story labeled it a "Disgusting Picture" of a "White Student" holding a "Put the Panic Back in Hispanic" sign.

"I don't think, personally, it warrants all this attention," Soto said.

Hilton said he doesn't believe the sign would've been made if Trump was not president. He said, "Not to say things were perfect when Barack Obama was president ... or things would be rosy had Hillary Clinton was president, but it was apparent that since Donald Trump has been in office, racial tensions and Antisemitism as well as white supremacy has been escalating over the past few months."

The Baldwin County School System, which includes Robertsdale high school, has faced some politically-charged issues in recent months. The most notable is the school system's investigation into a controversial summer reading list at Spanish Fort High School that includes books offered mostly by conservative personalities and firebrands like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin and Michael Savage.

Baldwin County, among the most conservative counties in Alabama, backed Trump's election in November 2016 with 76.5 percent of the vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton's 19.4 percent. The state overall backed Trump with 62.1 percent support.

Hilton said that Baldwin County school officials need to be having more "conversations about difficult subjects, real life subjects."

"They need to be teaching people how to be communicating effectively with each other and (define) what is communicating offensively," he said. "That should be part of their curriculum. Not just them, but across the country."

Soto said he's unsure what ramifications the girl may face by the school system.

Superintendent Eddie Tyler, in a letter Tuesday, said the school system has received calls requesting the girl to be expelled, receive a lengthy suspension or be banished for all school activities. Tyler said several of those letters were very "hateful."

The letter did not indicate whether the school system will take further action. The Baldwin County School Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Bay Minette.

Hilton's public links to Alabama matters are relatively limited, though the Alabama House passed a resolution in 2009 praising Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean for speaking out against same-sex marriage after Hilton questioned her about it.

The Miss USA contest was, at the time, owned by Trump.

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