Alec Baldwin Does Damage Control After Allegedly Using Gay Slur
Credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
It's time for yet another round of Baldwin damage control, and this time it has nothing to do with leaving angry voicemails for his daughter.
Alec Baldwin has caught hell after a confrontation with a photographer outside his New York home last week in which the actor allegedly punctuated his rant against the paparazzo with a gay slur. Though he denies using any anti-gay slurs (saying he called the man a "fathead"), MSNBC has already suspended Baldwin and pulled Up Late with Alec Baldwin from the airwaves, with no indication that the new series will return.
In front of a packed crowd Wednesday at a major technology conference in San Francisco, Baldwin did damage control by jokingly declaring his love for a man, because this is apparently what happens when celebrities don't have an Olivia Pope to do all their scandal troubleshooting.
"I want you to be my lover, Matt," Baldwin professed to a member of his entourage. "I love you, Matt. I love you in that way."
The audience was in a particularly good humor, and once the laughter quieted down, Baldwin went on to state that he's loved some men more than women, although never sexually. The Emmy winner also told the crowd that he hopes his 3-month-old daughter learns to control her temper better than he has once she's an adult, as he recognizes that he needs to choose his words more carefully.
"If in any context in the world that we live in today, if any word is remotely offensive to people, then I'm perfectly willing to learn a different word," he said.
Yet, in his contrition speech, Baldwin also detailed his frustration with a society in which people tend to believe everything they read online.
"There is a drive-by justice to the Internet society," he said. "They indict you, convict you and hang you on the same day."
ServiceSource International Inc., the San Francisco technology company that sponsored Baldwin's appearance, nearly rescinded the invite after TMZ posted the video of the actor's profanity-laced rant (which you can view here). However, ServiceSource CEO Michael Smerklo said he chose to move forward with the event as planned out of the belief that Baldwin's appearance could prompt a dialogue about important issues. Of course, Baldwin was only invited to the conference initially in order to share his views on business, since the actor had high-profile roles as a top General Electric Co. executive on 30 Rock, as well as a hard-hitting salesman in 1993's Glengarry Glen Ross, which is sort of like inviting me to a conference on the art of seduction because I played a ladies man in a play in college. Sure, I could contribute my opinions, but I'd be talking out of my ass too. And Lord knows the world has enough Baldwins as it is.
Via: USA Today