Richard Perez-Feria is Fired From People En Español
 Richard Perez-Feria is leaving People En Español . Of course they can try and say that his contract is up or some other ’safe’ lie but the inside scoop is that Richard was fired for his lies, misconduct, and loss of trust from the celebrities that the magazine promotes.
Richard walks around claiming that he slept with Ricky Martin, Pablo Montero, and other hot celebrities, male and female alike. He is apparently not too hush-hush about the secrets of celebrities and spills the beans on who does which drugs, something he participates in, and which celebrity is gay or not. The celebs complained and Richard got the boot.
Jennifer Lopez didn’t show up to the party for “50 Mas Bellos”, a party largely thrown in her honor, because she doesn’t care for Richard. I have to give him credit because he helped make the magazine what it is today, but I think everyone around him knew that he was on self-destruct mode.
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Rodrigo wrote:
Richard:
Hey Michelle! Now that I lost my job, are you still going to talk to me?
Michelle:
Haha! That’s a good one. Of course not!
07.06.2006 | 9:25 pm | Link
Mark Vega wrote:
I need to correct some factual errors in this column. First, the Más Bellos party was not thrown in honor of Jennifer López. It was thrown to celebrate the magazine’s biggest, most talked about issue of the year and not in honor of Mrs. Anthony or any other celebrity.
In fact, Jennifer Lopez was ecstatic both with her profile and photographs in the magazine and she wrote a personal, hand-written letter to Mr. Pérez-Feria thanking him profusely. If you read the story and saw the photographs you would agree she never looked so good in print.
It was the first time she had agreed to a cover story for a Latin magazine. That doesn’t sound like a star who dislikes the editor of the magazine. If she did not like Mr. Pérez-Feria, why did she grant him an exclusive, sit-down interview? If she didn’t like him, why did she agree to an exclusive day-long photo shoot? Certainly, there were many other publications and editors open to her, but she chose Mr. Pérez-Feria and the magazine he turned from a title she had refused dozens of times before, to one she actually wanted to be a part of.
As to her not showing up at the party, if you have ever tried to organize even the smallest back-yard gathering you must know how difficult it is to get dozens of people to agree on a date. Scheduling conflicts are inevitable. Dozens of top Latin celebrities did show up, including Enrique Iglesias and others too numerous to mention in this small space.
Regarding the claim he spilled the beans on celebrities, I never saw any beans in the magazine. The stories were always factual, informative and respectful of the celebrities. Or maybe you are referring to casual, off-the-cuff comments in a dark VIP room? If so, as they say, they are not worth the paper they are printed on. Certainly, gay and drug rumors about celebrities have been going around since Mr. Pérez-Feria was in diapers. If you’ll recall, Ricky Martin was the fodder of gay rumors long before Mr. Pérez-Feria joined People en Español. Celebrities don’t give a hoot about such rumors unless they appear in print or broadcast, which are the venues that reach their fans.
Gossip is information supported by facts, otherwise it’s not gossip it’s fantasy.
07.12.2006 | 1:40 pm | Link
Salvador wrote:
Whether he was booted or not, and whether he lied or not, People en Español is the amazing magazine it is today because of Richard. Boring editors make boring magazines…
07.12.2006 | 2:24 pm | Link
The Gossiper wrote:
Mark, thanks for your comments. I agree with you that Richard turned the magazine around and made it a success. I noted that in my original post. I notice that you argue that Jennifer Lopez didn’t show up for other reasons but do not argue that Richard brags about bedding celebrities and that he discusses celebs’ sexual orientation and drug use. Instead, you defend those actions by saying that those actions don’t bother celebrities. I am only a celebrity in my own small world, but I do have to say that I would be upset and disappointed if the editor of the largest Latin magazine was walking around sharing my business with the world, regardless if it was just in conversation. How could I trust that person?
Two more things to jot down.
1. Gossip is defined as “rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.”
2. You are obviously in the loop and write well. I could use someone like you on my staff. Looking for a job?
07.12.2006 | 11:43 pm | Link
Mark wrote:
Gossiper, thanks for the compliment regarding my writing.
I do not defend Richard’s actions as you say, because to defend them would be an admission that they in fact occurred and need to be excused. All I tried to do in my posting was to point out the inconsistencies between the facts as we know them and the allegations. Only by doing so we can we determine what really happened, since only two people—Richard and his boss—know for sure whether Richard left of his own accord as the official announcement stated or whether he was fired, as you contend, because celebrities disliked him.
Judging from their willingness to grant him exclusive interviews and cover shots, I do not believe that they disliked him. However, even if we assume for the sake of argument that they did, I very much doubt that celebrities had anything to do with his departure. That’s just not how the business works. If so, American Media would not have created an empire from a little rag called the National Enquirer.
Another factor that points away from a firing is that the magazine had more readers and ad pages than ever. Publishers don’t fire editors who are making money. An editor who is bringing home the bacon for the publisher would basically have to be convicted of murder to be booted.
07.13.2006 | 11:09 am | Link
Bernardo wrote:
After reading Mr.Vega’s comments, I can’t help but imagine an “interested voice” providing the words for his eloquent defense of Mr. Pérez-Feria.
It is true that he took People en Español to a much higher level in terms of design, content, and readership, an accomplishment for which the sales department deserves credit as well. But obviously, Mr. Vega, you don’t know (or maybe you do?) the shenanigans Richard pulled during his time as Managing Editor. It was those shenanigans and his constant “don’t you know who I am?” attitude that undermined his position. If I may paraphrase The Gossiper, Richard was a celebrity in his own small world. He could have kept that job for as long as he wanted. Unfortunately, he brought on his own demise.
07.21.2006 | 6:29 pm | Link