The Matthew Shepard Foundation has declined the offer celebrity blogger and button pusher Perez Hilton made of donating the proceeds from the lawsuit he filed against the Black Eyed Peas, according to the Advocate.

Hilton announced Friday morning via his blog that he intends to give the Matthew Shepard Foundation entirety of the money he anticipates earning from the lawsuit he filed earlier this week against Black Eyed Peas' manager, who allegedly physically assaulted him.

A statement from The Matthew Shepard Foundation reads:

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"We had no advance notice or contact from Mr. Hilton or his representatives regarding this proposal, nor any communication since he posted this plan to his website.
We do not know the details of the lawsuit, whether it has been filed, the nature of his claims or the likely outcome. But because the lawsuit presumably involves the physical attack prompted by Mr. Hilton's admitted use of an anti-gay slur, the Foundation will be unable to accept any funds obtained in such a manner.

We very much appreciate the generosity of the offer to support our continuing work to memorialize Matthew through activism in defense of sexual minorities and in favor of understanding, compassion, and acceptance. But because so much of our work involves education to reduce the use of hateful language against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, or those so perceived, it would be inappropriate for us to benefit financially from circumstances in which such a verbal attack was involved.

While we applaud Mr. Hilton's apology to the LGBT community and their loved ones for his use of such a slur, we also feel compelled to point out that use of epithets can often lead to physical violence, as it appears it may have in this case, and that the Matthew Shepard Foundation has worked for more than 10 years to bring to people's attention the consequences of hateful or intolerant language."