Well, at least Alec Baldwin is accepting full responsibility for the demise of his MSNBC show.
Oh wait, maybe not so much….
Also read: Alec Baldwin, MSNBC End His Show in Gay Slur Fallout
Baldwin, whose show “Up Late With Alec Baldwin” was terminated by mutual decision on Tuesday, following a backlash over his use of a homophobic slur, told Gothamist in an interview that “the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy” — in particular, GLAAD vice president of communications Rich Ferraro and gay writer Andrew Sullivan — had “killed” his show.
While maintaining that he had not used the word “faggot” during his confrontation with a paparazzo earlier this year — Baldwin has said that he uttered “fathead” instead — the actor nonetheless singled out Ferraro and Sullivan for blame.
Also read: Alec Baldwin Cops to Gay Slur as Anderson Cooper Slams ‘Ridiculous’ Excuses
“[I]f I called him ‘cocksucking maggot’ or a ‘cocksucking motherfucker’… ‘faggot’ is not the word that came out of my mouth. That I know,” Baldwin said. “But you’ve got the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy — Rich Ferraro and Andrew Sullivan — they’re out there, they’ve got you. Rich Ferraro, this is probably one of his greatest triumphs. They killed my show. And I have to take some responsibility for that myself.”
Baldwin admitted via his Twitter account that he shouldn’t have used the word “cocksucker,” saying that Ferraro had told him it was an anti-gay slur.
Also read: Alec Baldwin Defended by Daughter Ireland in Wake of Gay Slur
In a statement to TheWrap, Ferraro and GLAAD denied that playing any part in Baldwin’s situation was among his greatest triumphs.
They also chided Baldwin for not using the incident to spark a teachable moment.
“I consider GLAAD’s campaigns to end the Boy Scout of America’s ban on gay scouts, raise national visibility of the violence and inequality facing transgender people, and battling for marriage equality to be among my ‘greatest triumphs,'” Ferraro and GLAAD said. “But if a teacher, coach, local radio show host, or parent realizes that anti-LGBT slurs are outdated and unacceptable because of this Baldwin issue, I guess we’ll call it a win. Alec Baldwin‘s team has not been open to turning this incident into an opportunity for public education and that’s unfortunate.”
