MSNBC Has Suspended Alec Baldwin
MSNBC suspended Alec Baldwin on Friday after a furor stirred by a gay slur that Mr. Baldwin made in a confrontation with reporters this week.
Mr. Baldwin’s month-old MSNBC interview show, “Up Late,” was not telecast Friday night, and the network said it would not be shown next week.
In a statement Friday night, Mr. Baldwin issued a formal apology as word of the suspension leaked.
He wrote: “I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone with my choice of words, but clearly I have — and for that I am deeply sorry. Words are important. I understand that, and will choose mine with great care going forward. What I said and did this week, as I was trying to protect my family, was offensive and unacceptable. Behavior like this undermines hard-fought rights that I vigorously support.”
The situation stemmed from a confrontation on Thursday with a photographer trying to get pictures of Mr. Baldwin leaving his Manhattan apartment with his wife and baby. Video from the website TMZ caught the actor using at least one vulgarity.
Initially Mr. Baldwin denied using a gay slur. But by Friday, after widespread criticism, he conceded in a Twitter message that he had used an offensive word. “I apologize and will retire it from my vocabulary,” he said.
This was not the first time Mr. Baldwin was accused of making homophobic comments. Last summer, he apologized after calling a male reporter a “toxic little queen” and threatening to beat him up.
In light of this week’s episode, numerous representatives of the gay community have spoken out against Mr. Baldwin, including the organization GLAAD, which noted that the actor had a history of speaking out against discrimination. GLAAD said: "Mr. Baldwin can’t lend his support for equality on paper, while degrading gay people in practice,” and added: “It’s clearly time he listens to the calls from so many L.G.B.T. people and allies to end this pattern of antigay slurs."
Mr. Baldwin, an Emmy-winning actor from the comedy “30 Rock,” has a history of encounters that have landed him in tabloid headlines. This week, he testified against a woman accused of stalking him. The woman was convicted and sentenced to seven months in jail.
By BILL CARTER
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