Alec Baldwin’s
seven-page, woe-is-me cover rant in the latest issue of New York
magazine, which dwells on his enemies list, may just fast-track his wish
to flee the city for a better life in L.A. But that wasn’t the actor’s
goal, we’re told.
In the piece, the “30 Rock” star attempts to explain his public
behavior of late, but instead ends up making a list of New York-based
foes — including staffers at MSNBC, where he was fired from “Up Late
With Alec Baldwin” in November after an alleged homophobic slur flung at
a photographer.
Despite that, Baldwin was simply trying to convey his side of the story to the magazine’s writer Joe Hagan, who put the actor’s words together into a story after a series of in-person, email and phone interviews.
Alec “thinks what he thinks. To his credit, he gathered his own info, talked to people at MSNBC and came to his own conclusions,” Hagan tells Confidenti@l. “He’s a smart guy. He’s frustrated with what happened to him and was trying to make sense of this past year.”
Hagan explains that Baldwin, who approached him through a mutual friend, “wanted to get some closure. I think he genuinely wanted someone to convey his story accurately.”
He adds that Baldwin was very “open and candid.”
“There was no publicist, no intermediary. ... There was no hand-holding; he really just went at this and said exactly what was on his mind,” the writer says.
In the article, Baldwin bashes everyone from Rachel Maddow to MSNBC honcho Phil Griffin, who he says “couldn’t give a flying f— about content.” Of Maddow, he says, “I also think she’s a phony who doesn’t have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.”
Maddow tells Confidenti@l that Baldwin’s comments about her, like suggesting that she was influential in his firing, are odd because she doesn’t even know the actor.
“I have never met Mr. Baldwin, either on-camera or off-camera. I wish him all the best,” she told us in response to the article.
We also hear the reaction inside the network is one of confusion, as most staffers had minimal contact with the star during his short run, even though Baldwin says: “None of them are funny, although that doesn’t prevent them from trying to be.”
“What a moron. Baldwin barely knows anyone at MSNBC, especially those that he bashed in his article,” one well-placed insider tells us. “Maybe it was a homework assignment from his anger-management class. I guess they don’t call him the Bloviator for nothing.”
His own co-workers are glad he’s getting the boot. Staffers at “Piers Morgan Tonight” are actually relieved that CNN has canceled the show, sources tell Confidenti@l.
“He was always such an a------ to people working for him,” one insider says of the bombastic Brit. Morgan’s last show is likely to be this week, but no specific date has been set. We hear it was low ratings and a bad attitude that killed it, and the decision was made by network boss Jeff Zucker.
“The makeup girls suffered the worst — he was rude and belligerent,” says our source. “The general feeling is Morgan didn’t show any respect to anyone working under him — the people who were trying to make him look good.”
Last Thursday, “Piers Morgan” was seen by just 364,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen. That was easily beaten by Fox News’ “The Kelly File” (1.9 million) and MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” (925,000). Morgan was questioned in November in London by cops investigating phone hacking, but a CNN spokeswoman said that interview was not a factor in his show being canned.
Morgan was the editor of the U.K’s Mirror newspaper from 1995 until he was fired in 2004 over the publication of pictures that were claimed to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British soldiers; it turned out the photos were fakes.
A rep for Morgan didn’t get back to us.
Robin Thicke and Paula Patton have separated after eight years of marriage. “We will always love each other and be best friends; however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time,” the singer told People. The couple hit a rough patch last summer after a picture emerged of Thicke, with his hand on fan Lana Scolaro’s backside at a VMA after-party, following Thicke and Miley Cyrus ’ infamous twerking scene. Thicke, 36, and Patton, 38, had met when Thicke was just 14. They have a son, Julian Fuego Thicke, born in April 2010.
Despite that, Baldwin was simply trying to convey his side of the story to the magazine’s writer Joe Hagan, who put the actor’s words together into a story after a series of in-person, email and phone interviews.
Alec “thinks what he thinks. To his credit, he gathered his own info, talked to people at MSNBC and came to his own conclusions,” Hagan tells Confidenti@l. “He’s a smart guy. He’s frustrated with what happened to him and was trying to make sense of this past year.”
Hagan explains that Baldwin, who approached him through a mutual friend, “wanted to get some closure. I think he genuinely wanted someone to convey his story accurately.”
He adds that Baldwin was very “open and candid.”
“There was no publicist, no intermediary. ... There was no hand-holding; he really just went at this and said exactly what was on his mind,” the writer says.
In the article, Baldwin bashes everyone from Rachel Maddow to MSNBC honcho Phil Griffin, who he says “couldn’t give a flying f— about content.” Of Maddow, he says, “I also think she’s a phony who doesn’t have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.”
Maddow tells Confidenti@l that Baldwin’s comments about her, like suggesting that she was influential in his firing, are odd because she doesn’t even know the actor.
“I have never met Mr. Baldwin, either on-camera or off-camera. I wish him all the best,” she told us in response to the article.
We also hear the reaction inside the network is one of confusion, as most staffers had minimal contact with the star during his short run, even though Baldwin says: “None of them are funny, although that doesn’t prevent them from trying to be.”
“What a moron. Baldwin barely knows anyone at MSNBC, especially those that he bashed in his article,” one well-placed insider tells us. “Maybe it was a homework assignment from his anger-management class. I guess they don’t call him the Bloviator for nothing.”
His own co-workers are glad he’s getting the boot. Staffers at “Piers Morgan Tonight” are actually relieved that CNN has canceled the show, sources tell Confidenti@l.
“He was always such an a------ to people working for him,” one insider says of the bombastic Brit. Morgan’s last show is likely to be this week, but no specific date has been set. We hear it was low ratings and a bad attitude that killed it, and the decision was made by network boss Jeff Zucker.
“The makeup girls suffered the worst — he was rude and belligerent,” says our source. “The general feeling is Morgan didn’t show any respect to anyone working under him — the people who were trying to make him look good.”
Last Thursday, “Piers Morgan” was seen by just 364,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen. That was easily beaten by Fox News’ “The Kelly File” (1.9 million) and MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” (925,000). Morgan was questioned in November in London by cops investigating phone hacking, but a CNN spokeswoman said that interview was not a factor in his show being canned.
Morgan was the editor of the U.K’s Mirror newspaper from 1995 until he was fired in 2004 over the publication of pictures that were claimed to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British soldiers; it turned out the photos were fakes.
A rep for Morgan didn’t get back to us.
Robin Thicke and Paula Patton have separated after eight years of marriage. “We will always love each other and be best friends; however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time,” the singer told People. The couple hit a rough patch last summer after a picture emerged of Thicke, with his hand on fan Lana Scolaro’s backside at a VMA after-party, following Thicke and Miley Cyrus ’ infamous twerking scene. Thicke, 36, and Patton, 38, had met when Thicke was just 14. They have a son, Julian Fuego Thicke, born in April 2010.
