Alec Baldwin Reveals Why He's Stepping Away From Twitter
Without citing a specific reason, actor Alec Baldwin announced yesterday, January 18, that he would be temporarily leaving Twitter. "Goodbye for now," he said in his final tweet before hopping off the grid. While the exact reason isn't clear, speculation suggests that his reason for jumping ship might be related to recent controversies surrounding his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, allegedly engaging in cultural appropriation (via CNN).
Hilaria recently found herself under fire due to claims that she has been faking her Spanish accent and being dishonest about her heritage. But the 36-year-old believes she hasn't done anything wrong, saying, "I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain (via NewsDay)."
Alec hasn't spoken much about the controversy, but his wife has gotten support from other Baldwin family members, including Billy Baldwin's wife, Chyna, who said, "She's a good woman and you know none of us are perfect. We all have issues (via YouTube)."
"Twitter is like a party where everybody is screaming. Not much of a party," Alec tweeted as his dramatic exit from the website (via Us Weekly).
Alec Baldwin appears to use Twitter as a space to share his political opinions
This isn't the actor's first time stepping away from Twitter due to a controversy. In 2017, Alec announced that he would be taking a break from the social media platform due to some controversial statements he made regarding Harvey Weinstein's harassment and sexual assault allegations (via PBS News Hour). His comments turned heads as he seemed to imply that victims of sexual assault that take financial payoffs are "setting back the course of change (via The Hollywood Reporter)."
In response to the backlash at the time, Alec tweeted, "It is with some degree of sadness that I will suspend posting on this a TWITTER account for a period of [time] and in the current climate." He paired the announcement with an apology in which he claims he never intended to "blame the victim."
Over the years, Alec Baldwin has made his political views very clear via his Twitter account, often retweeting content from left-leaning sources and openly expressing his opinions. And if there was any question of his political leanings, his literal re-enactment and parody of Donald Trump on SNL surely provided a pretty big clue.