Alec Baldwin is taking some heat for saying something kind of dumb to The Hollywood Reporter.
Okay, actually:
Alec Baldwin is taking A LOT of heat for saying something VERY dumb to The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor is featured on the latest cover of this publication, touching on nearly every topic of his personal and professional life in the feature story.
But it’s one story he tells in particular, along with his reaction to that story, that has nearly all of Twitter rolling its collective eyes.
At one point while speaking to Baldwin, writer Lacey Rose says that an African-American man named Tyrone approaches Baldwin and compliments him for his role of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.
Writes Rose of the encounter:
“Though he’s waving and pointing and causing something of a scene, the often-irritable Baldwin doesn’t mind a bit.
“In fact, he calls Tyrone over and the two begin cracking each other up. It’s hard to tell who’s enjoying the other more.”
Baldwin says this sort of interaction happens “incessantly” these days, elaborating in annoying detail:
I don’t know how to say this and I don’t want to get it wrong either, because everything is a minefield of bombs going off, but ever since I played Trump, black people love me.
They love me. Everywhere I go, black people go crazy. I think it’s because they’re most afraid of Trump.
I’m not going to paint every African-American person with the same brush, but a significant number of them are sitting there going, ‘This is going to be bad for black folks."”
Almost as soon after the article was published online Wednesday, Baldwin was met with major backlash on Twitter.
He may not have wanted to paint every African-American with the same brush — but then maybe he should have tried not doing exactly that.
Alec Baldwin needs to stop talking for black people, reads one tweet, while another agrees:
When liberal white men get too comfortable <<<<<<<<<<<<<.
And another: Someone should tell him that now he sounds like he’s LITERALLY turning INTO Trump by saying this FOOLISHNESS!!
And another: Boy, if you don’t….. Alec ruins everything by opening his mouth. The reason he plays a raging, fading narcissist so well is because he is one.
And another: So he’s implying that black people love him because he made fun of someone he thinks they’re afraid of. Is that racist? That feels racist
Baldwin, of course, is a very outspoken Democrat and Liberal.
He likely meant no harm by this statement.
He likely meant to simply criticize President Trump’s treatment of black people and attitude toward that race.
But he comes across like a pretty huge and conceited moron here and he should probably stop talking for a little while. He needs a timeout.
Baldwin won an Emmy Award last year for his portrayal of Trump.
He has clashed often with the Commander-in-Chief on social media.
Neither the actor nor anyone from his camp has responded yet to this line of criticism from his Hollywood Reporter interview, but it may be worthwhile for Baldwin to issue some kind of apology.
This was not a good look for the star.