MSNBC has reportedly fired Alec Baldwin
in part over accusations he hurled an anti-gay slur during an
altercation with a photographer.
TMZ.com
claims Baldwin called the photographer a “cocksucking faggot”
during the altercation which took place two weeks ago outside his New
York City apartment.
Baldwin denied the claim, saying
he said “cocksucking fathead.”
In a Huffington
Post op-ed, Baldwin insisted he never used the word “faggot.”
“I never used the word faggot in the
tape recording being offered as evidence against me,” Baldwin
wrote. “What word is said right after the other choice word I use
is unclear. But I can assure you, with complete confidence, that a
direct homophobic slur (or indirect one for that matter) is not
spoken. In the wake of referring to a tabloid 'journalist' as a
toxic queen, I would never allow myself to make that mistake again,
nor would I expose my wife and family to the attendant ridicule.”
The incident led to the two-week
suspension of Baldwin's MSNBC show, Up Late with Alec Baldwin.
According to The
New York Post, the network partially based its decision on
the incident. However, an unnamed source told Page Six that
Baldwin's demands were also to blame for his dismissal.
“The decision has
been made. He's gone,” the insider said. “The [parent company]
Comcast guys have decided. Word is spreading through the building.”
A spokesman for
Baldwin confirmed that the show has ended but suggested that the
decision was mutual.
“The show is not
coming back,” the spokesman said. “He had questions on whether
he wanted to continue.”