Alec Baldwin's temper has gotten him into trouble yet again. The 30 Rock actor allegedly threatened to choke a New York Post reporter and hurled a racial slur at the newspaper's photographer on Sunday, Feb. 17.
Reporter Tara Palmeri approached the 54-year-old Rock of Ages star while he was walking his dogs in Manhattan. When she asked Baldwin about a recent lawsuit involving his pregnant wife Hilaria, Palmeri said Baldwin responded by grabbing her arm and saying, "I want to choke you to death." The New York Post said Palmeri played an audio recording of the actor's threat to police.
Baldwin then turned to the African American photographer G.N. Miller and allegedly called him "a "coon," "crackhead" and "drug dealer." Baldwin tweeted several times about the incident but later deleted them from his account.
Both Baldwin and Miller filed harassment claims against each another after the tense run-in. The actor denied using racial slurs, telling TMZ the allegation "is one of the most outrageous things I've heard in my life."
Baldwin went into further detail while speaking to Gothamist on Monday, Feb. 18. "This guy was right up in my face as I crossed University Place," he said of Miller. "I get to the other side of the street, and he bumped into me."
The Emmy winner said he believes Miller purposefully tried to provoke him. "He banged into me with his shoulder, because he was right on top of me with the camera," he explained. "In my mind, it was deliberate. I've had that happen before. It happens sometimes, because they want to bait you, they want you to do something."
Baldwin insisted he was merely defending his yoga instructor spouse, 28. "My wife is pregnant and I'm trying to make sure she has as much peace as possible," he told Gothamist. "Who knows what these people can do?"
After Baldwin called the police, four officers arrived on the scene to question those involved. Miller claimed he was a former cop, though he was able to provide a valid ID as evidence. "While police were here, you'd figure that'd be an opportune time for this guy to really attempt to tar me in some way. But there was no mention of anything I said to him," Baldwin recalled. "No one said anything about me saying the n-word or taunting him or anything. So it was after the fact. He wants to say I used some racial slur against him."
Baldwin — who was accused of punching a New York Daily News photographer 11 days before his June 2012 wedding — said he acted out of concern for the safety of his family. "The Post will stop at nothing — that's what The Post is. Their function is to denigrate people, humiliate people, reduce people, make excuses for people who are their political partisans. It's a highly biased, highly politicized group of people. However, I'm stunned that they would resort to that. Even for The Post, this is a new low."
