Alec Baldwin Blames 'Fundamentalist' Gays for Killing His Show

Alec Baldwin is blaming "the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy" for the sudden cancelation of his show, Up Late, reports Gothamist.

MSNBC announced yesterday that Up Late would not be returning and that the network was parting ways with Baldwin after the actor used homophobic language, reportedly calling a news photographer a "cocksucking little fag." Though a statement from MSNBC said the decision was a "mutual parting, and we wish Alec all the best," Baldwin is now blaming LGBT advocates, including GLAAD's vice president of communications, Rich Ferraro, for killing his show.

"I dispute half the comment I made ... if I called him 'cocksucking maggot' or a 'cocksucking motherfucker' ... 'faggot' is not the word that came out of my mouth. That I know," Baldwin told Gothamist. "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."

Ferraro was quick to respond to Baldwin's comments, saying in a statement, "I consider GLAAD's campaigns to end the Boy Scouts 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.' But if a teacher, coach, local radio show host, or parent realizes that anti-LGBT slurs are outdated and unacceptable because of this Baldwin issue, I guess we'll call it a win.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."

Baldwin is well known for his liberal politics, including support for LGBT rights, but he also has a history of using antigay slurs when angry. Last summer, for instance, he called a British reporter a "toxic little queen," among other things, and he also used "queen" in reference to a New York Daily News editor. Regarding the latest incident, he initially claimed he called the photographer "fathead" instead of "fag," and asserted he did not know that "cocksucking" had an antigay connotation. He received condemnation from several organizations and people, including GLAAD, out CNN journalist Anderson Cooper, and gay columnist Andrew Sullivan.