Alec Baldwin can’t seem to stay away from Twitter. He claimed to be leaving the platform after comments about Rose McGowan and her allegations against Harvey Weinstein. He left his personal account at the time and decided to keep to the Hilaria And Alec Baldwin Foundation account. Only to “continue to post re our work w the arts and environment.”
Of course, that afternoon Baldwin used the account to break from that and respond to Asia Argento’s criticism of him before blocking her. Since then, he has used the account to retweet Michael Rappaport’s criticism of John Oliver grilling of Dustin Hoffman and post his own criticism of both Oliver and Stephen Colbert.
Baldwin addressed Oliver questioning Hoffman on Monday, prompting him to post a tweet chastising the host and Colbert for turning the late night interview circuit into “grand juries”:
Talk shows were once promotional pit stops for some blithe chit chat about movies, etc. Now the likes of @iamjohnoliver and @StephenAtHome have flipped that and they are beginning to resemble grand juries.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 6, 2017
Thus far, we’ve had a tidal wave of accusations. But what’s next? H.W. is the low-hanging fruit here. And if you don’t get some form of conviction w him, that will hurt the cause. People have to believe that they’re are “ultimate” consequences.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 6, 2017
He is partially right. These shows were once only known as “promotional pit stops for some blithe chit-chat.” But then David Letterman moved to CBS, Jon Stewart grew a brand at Comedy Central, and these shows started to evolve with society.
https://twitter.com/brookswheelan/status/938645099520466944
The tweets criticizing Oliver and Colbert appeared Wednesday morning and were met with a critical response. This led Baldwin to write a longer response to clarify his stance — or make it worse if you peek at the comments that followed:
1- I believe that, in terms of a criminal code or any wrong doing, there are gradations. Our system recognizes a misdemeanor from a felony and so forth. What Hoffman did several years ago was vulgar/offensive/ crude. But was it done with malice?
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 7, 2017
2- behavior has changed significantly over the past 40-50 years. There are changes I never thought possible. Some of it actually for the better. But I’m certain Hoffman believed that there was a crude display of “humor” that everyone was in on yet is unacceptable today
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 7, 2017
3- I think that so long as people are ready, truly ready to learn, then this is more than an important step. I don’t think Hoffman was malicious. His humor, his sexualized behavior seems ridiculous and inappropriate now. But it was, to a degree, of it’s time.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 7, 2017
4- I think he is a sensitive and intelligent man who acted foolishly and people should accept his apology. Our goal should be for people to do better. For those like HW a different standard should apply.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 7, 2017
5- But some of those embroiled in this upheaval deserve forgiveness. Perhaps only a few.
This world is difficult enough as it is. Let’s conserve our judgement for those that have truly earned it.
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 7, 2017
Some did agree that what Hoffman allegedly did wasn’t the same as the allegations against Harvey Weinstein. But others questioned who gets to actually pass judgment and who decides the level of judgment if it doesn’t go to a court of law.
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/938443998183669765
Baldwin closed out with a tweet in Spanish telling everybody goodbye and wishing them a Merry Christmas. This seems like a hint that Baldwin might be stepping away from this account too, but we’ll have to wait and see.
(Via The AV Club / HuffPost)