Perez Hilton: tastemaker and troublemaker

Perez Hilton is not sorry.

He is not sorry for trashing Miss California for saying marriage should be between a man and woman.

He is not sorry he accused Michael Jackson of faking it on the day he died ("Heart attack or cold feet?"), though he did redact his post to remove the cynical speculation.

He is not sorry he posted photos of Oscar-winning "Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, avatar of gay family values, having unprotected sex with a porn actor. ("If you make a sex tape or pictures, they will get out. And I will post them!" And in this case, take them down when threatened with a privacy invasion lawsuit.)

Nor is he entirely sorry for directing a gay slur at Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am (although after getting punched in the face by the Black Eyed Peas' road manager in retaliation, he realizes it was wrong to use that word and issued a qualified apology to "the gay community" -- but not to will.i.am, who, he said, "is a moron").

Anyway, why would he be sorry? ? "I've built my brand on being a bitch," said the gay celebrity blogger. "So what?"

But Hilton no longer just gossips about celebrities; he has become one. Now they gossip about him. No longer the failed actor with his nose pressed against the glass, Hilton is firmly on the inside now. He is a star in his own right, in the midst of an expansion that could secure his status as a tastemaker and entrepreneur, or irreparably dilute his brand.

Hilton's closest competitors -- popular sites such as TMZ, OMG! and Wonderwall -- are corporate owned (by Time Warner, Yahoo and Microsoft, respectively). Far less idiosyncratic in tone, none has inspired the intensely passionate love/hate reactions engendered by Hilton, who produces up to 60 posts a day with two people: his younger sister, Barbara (Barby) Lavandeira, 25, and a recent college graduate whom he declined to name. "Why do you want to know that?" he said "It's all about me!"

Increasingly, he is a force to be reckoned with in other spheres of pop culture as well. On July 21, Hilton launched his own music imprint, Perezcious Music, for Warner Bros. Records. While he is trying to come up with a fresh idea for a TV entertainment news show, he's already got Radio Perez, a daily gossip report for Citadel Broadcasting that runs in 55 markets. [Locally, it airs on KPWR-FM (105.9).] It's recorded at home, in the Pepto Bismol-pink guest bedroom he's converted to a closet brimming with free clothes and shoes. ("I love mah freebies.") This week, he is preparing to debut a second website aimed squarely at his vast number of female twentysomething fans.