Alec Baldwin and his daughter Ireland Baldwin spoke out on Sunday, December 27, to defend his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, after she was accused of faking her Spanish accent.
In an eight-and-a-half-minute-long Instagram video, the 30 Rock actor took aim at people criticizing his wife.
“We live in a world now where we’re hidden behind the anonymity of social media. People feel that they can say anything. … They probably would like to do anything if they weren’t at risk of getting caught and going to prison,” he said. “Because they can’t do that, because that involves real commitment to do something, to express those feelings, they say things, no profile picture very often, sometimes yes, no identifying features there, hidden behind the anonymity of social media, they want to just shoot it all over you and spray it all over you, their venom and their hate.”
“You have to consider the source,” the Saturday Night Live actor, 62, continued. “There’s things that have been said lately about people that I love, that I care about deeply, which are ridiculous.”
Hilaria, 36, became a trending topic on Twitter after several users claimed in a thread that she is pretending to have a Spanish accent. Videos posted showed the yoga instructor speaking with a Spanish accent and, in one instance, forgetting the English word for cucumber. But in later videos, she didn’t have the same accent.
The Living Clearly Method author spoke out about the allegations in an Instagram video, admitting that her real name is Hillary and that she was born in Massachusetts, not Spain.
“I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain. My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here, in the USA. We celebrate both cultures in our home — Alec and I are raising our children bilingual, just as I was raised. This is very important to me. I understand that my story is a little different, but it is mine, and I’m very proud of it,” the mother of five said.
The “Mom Brain” podcast host admitted that her accent changes. “I am that person, if I’ve been speaking a lot of Spanish, I tend to mix them or if I’m speaking a lot of English I mix that, it’s one of those things I’ve always been insecure about,” Hilaria admitted, but she insisted, “It’s not something I’m playing at … I want that to be very, very clear.”
“Yes, I am a white girl,” she continued. “Europe has a lot of white people in there. My family is white. Ethnically, I am a mix of many many many things. Culturally, I grew up with two cultures. So it’s really as simple as that.”
The Instagram influencer then posted a video on her Stories saying that she’s going to take a break from the social media platform “for a long time.”
Alec’s daughter Ireland, who he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger, also came to her stepmom’s defense, posting a series of Instagram Story videos, calling Hilaria’s critics “sad and pathetic” for digging so deeply into the life of somebody they don’t know.
“She is a good person,” the model and actress continued. “She’s a caring person who has always respected my relationship with my dad and I have a great relationship with her. … Hilaria is a wonderful mother who takes great care of her kids and she takes great care of my dad and that’s really all that matters to me.”
The 25-year-old also added a lengthy comment on Hilaria’s most recent Instagram post.
“I wish people had the chance to know you and know your story the way that I do rather than from a fabricated nine hour long Instagram story,” she wrote. “I think you are an incredible mom and an inspiration. I know what it’s like to have a really awful piece of s–t woman in your place trying to be my stepmom… And I thank God often that the stars aligned and I wound up with a stepmom like you.”
“I love you and I find it really sad that people have the time that they do to play detective and make up a lot of lies and fabricate a lot of truths to fit a story,” she continued. “I’m sorry that people are giving you such a hard time during a time that is already so f–king difficult for everyone in this world coping with the realities of Covid and being without family over the holidays and even losing family during the holidays due to this madness… I know who you are and I know what you are not and I’m lucky to know you for who you truly are.”
The Grudge Match actress also referenced one of the original poster’s claims that she is “pissed” that her share of her inheritance from her father is getting “smaller and smaller” as Alec and Hilaria expand their family.
“When I’m worth $900 billion,” Ireland wrote to Hilaria, “I will definitely give you and the kids and maybe my dad a little bit.”
Hear the Us Weekly editors break down the most surprising celebrity births during the pandemic in under 2 minutes!
