Shortly after MSNBC announced it was suspending Alec Baldwin’s “Up Late” for two weeks, the actor took to his blog on The Huffington Post to explain that he’s not positive the show will be back at all.
MSNBC’s announcement came after the actor was caught on video Thursday allegedly yelling homophobic slurs at paparazzi.
He said his taped outburst only occurred because a photographer had stepped too closely to his family, but he said in a public apology that his actions were still unacceptable and undermine “hard-fought rights that I vigorously support.”
He also tweeted he was unaware the term he used was offensive to gays.
“I can assure you, with complete confidence, that a direct homophobic slur (or indirect one for that matter) is not spoken,” Mr. Baldwin wrote in his blog Saturday. “My friends who happen to be gay are baffled by this. They see me as one who has recently fought for marriage equality and has been a supporter of gay rights for many years.”
The former “30 Rock” star said that whether his news program comes back at all “is at issue right now.”
SEE ALSO: MSNBC suspends Alec Baldwin’s show after gay slur video surfaces
“I have been a fan of MSNBC for some time,” he said. “Its left-leaning tone never bothered me. I still believe that they are more enamored of and devoted to the truth in any single hour than Fox is all year long. I think Rachel Maddow is perhaps the single most important television journalist on the air today. And if my show does disappear, I will be grateful in so far as her good work, along with that of O’Donnell and Hayes and Sharpton and Matthews and Jansing, will not be sullied by my problem.”
Mr. Baldwin also blasted the “tabloid press” who “harass and hector” his wife and newborn child.
“Two requests,” he said. “Don’t allow my problem to be MSNBC’s problem. They are good people who work hard at a job, just like many of you. And two, please respect the privacy of my wife and family. If you have an opinion of me, then express it. Think what you like. But I ask that my wife, who I care about more than words can say, and both my children, be left out of this.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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