Alec Baldwin has finally had enough with all the drama that constantly surrounds him... he is exiting from public life.
In a 5,000-word New York magazine essay, the 55-year-old star discussed the events leading up to his decision and how he plans to spend his days now. 2013 wasn’t all bad for Baldwin, his daughter Carmen was born in August. But after several incidents, including an conflict with Shia LaBeouf on a Broadway set, an altercation with a photographer, and some choice words on Twitter with a Daily Mail journalist, Baldwin has decided it is time for him to remove himself from public life.
Baldwin points to the media as his main frustration, particularly the way the tabloids have portrayed him over the past year.
“I loathe and despise the media in a way I did not think possible. This is the last time I’m going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again,” he wrote.
Last November, Baldwin was involved in an altercation with a photographer who attempted to take a photo of his wife and new baby. The photographer alleges that Baldwin used a homophobic slur at him during the tussle. Shortly after news of the incident broken, MSNBC cancelled the talk show Baldwin was scheduled to star in.
“I’m not a homophobic person at all,” Baldwin wrote. “But this is how the world now sees me. I haven’t changed, but public life has.”
In his essay, Baldwin goes on to take jabs at several celebrities and media organizations.
He calls out Rachel Maddow as the reason for the cancellation of his MSNBC show, writing “I think Rachel Maddow is quite good at what she does. I also think she’s a phony who doesn’t have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.”
On the Shia LaBeouf incident he wrote: “There was friction between us from the beginning. LaBeouf seems to carry with him, to put it mildly, a jailhouse mentality wherever he goes.”
Baldwin also seems to be calling it quits with the city of New York in its entirety, writing about his desire to move his family to a more normal lifestyle. “I probably have to move out of New York,” he writes. “I just can’t live in New York anymore. Everything I hated about L.A. I’m beginning to crave. L.A. is a place where you live behind a gate, you get in a car, your interaction with the public is minimal.”
UPDATE: NBC has announced that Baldwin will play Jimmy MacArthur, who is described as a controversial media figure, for an episode of Law & Order: SVU. So if you really miss his mug, you can look forward to that episode which airs on March 19th.
