Alec Baldwin forced to apologise after hurling anti-gay abuse at photographer
Actor Alec Baldwin has been forced to apologise for hurling anti-gay abuse against a New York photographer, after backtracking from insisting he never used a homophobic slur to conceding he would “now retire” one of the words he used from his vocabulary.
The former 30 Rock star was approached by paparazzi on Thursday where he was caught on camera calling one photographer a “c***ksucking fag.”
The video was posted on to TMZ which showed the actor shouting: “Get away from my wife and baby with the camera.” After chasing one photographer away, he then walks back to his car before shouting the anti-gay slurs.
Baldwin strongly denied using the word “fag” however, in a now-deleted tweet which read: “Acoustic analysis proves the word is fathead. Fathead …”
Following the incident, the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD condemned Baldwin on his “pattern” of anti-gay slurs.
Spokesman Rich Ferraro said in a statement: “Mr Baldwin can’t lend his support for equality on paper, while degrading gay people in practice.”
“It’s clearly time he listens to the calls from so many LGBT people and allies to end this pattern of anti-gay slurs.”
Following this, Twitchy reports that Baldwin went on a rampage against TMZ, which he has since also deleted.
Among other messages, he posted: “When did all this Breitbart libertarian trash become the defenders of gay rights?”
Later, he backtracked issuing a more placated and formal series of tweets, in which he eventually cornered himself and apologised for using the term “cocksucker,” which he claims he was not aware was an anti-gay slur:
Anti-gay slurs are wrong. They not only offend, but threaten hard fought tolerance of LGBT rights.
— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) November 14, 2013
I’m grateful to all of the ppl I meet + hear from who recognize that I would never say something to offend my friends in the gay community.
— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) November 14, 2013
1-Rich Ferraro from @glaad informs me that c’sucker is an anti-gay epithet. In which case I apologize and will retire it from my vocabulary.
— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) November 15, 2013
In June, GLAAD gave Baldwin the benefit of the doubt after he apologised in an open letter calling a Daily Mail writer a “toxic little queen”:
“My ill-advised attack on George Stark of the Daily Mail had absolutely nothing to do with issues of anyone’s sexual orientation.
“My anger was directed at Mr Stark for blatantly lying and disseminating libelous information about my wife and her conduct at our friend’s funeral service. As someone who fights against homophobia, I apologize.”
In a series of tweets, Baldwin abused Mr Stark, urging his followers to “straighten out this f****ing little bitch.”
