Perez Hilton has admitted he "regrets" his treatment of Britney Spears after a viral documentary scrutinised the media's reporting of her mental health issues.
The online gossip columnist appeared on Good Morning Britain following the release of Framing Britney Spears, where he conceded that "most" of what he had written about the pop star wasn't appropriate.
"I regret a lot or most of what I said about Britney," Hilton said.
"Thankfully, hopefully, many of us get older and wiser."
Hilton infamously called Spears an "unfit mother" after an incident in which she hit a paparazzi's car with an umbrella in 2007. The blogger also asked the question "why couldn't it have been Britney?" after the death of Heath Ledger in 2008 - a slogan which he printed on T-shirts.
In his GMB interview, Hilton also defended journalist Diane Sawyer, who he said was being "painted as a villain" after clips of her 2003 interview with a 22-year-old Spears were including in the documentary.
Sawyer grilled Spears on losing her virginity and whether or not she had cheated on her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, prompting the 'Toxic' singer to break down in tears.
"I think a lot of fans and folks just want to blame this person or that person," Hilton said.
"It's not as simple as that, there are real mental health issues at play with Britney Spears."
Hilton suggested some of the criticism he was receiving was hypocritical considering the coverage of Kanye West's recent public meltdowns.
"Last year, people weren't leading with compassion towards Kanye West," he said.
Posting the interview on Twitter, Hilton wrote: "I will get a lot of hate for this - and I don't care. It needed to be said!"
Framing Britney Spears is available to stream in New Zealand exclusively on ThreeNow.
