Alec Baldwin stoked more controversy today by using a gay slur to describe CNN host Anderson Cooper.
Interviewed by TMZ outside his New York apartment, the film and television star was asked if he had a message for Cooper, who last week openly criticized Baldwin on Twitter.
"Yeah, tell that butt pirate to stay the hell out of my business," Baldwin responded. "The paparazzi are bad enough, I don't need some drama queen on Twitter spreading rumors and false allegations.
"I'm a celebrity. I have higher stress levels than the average person. Sometimes I lose my cool and fly off the handle. So what? Of all people, a national newscaster should understand the pressures A-listers like me are under.
"It's pathetic to think that Anderson has nothing better to do than hunch over his computer and Tweet about my life. Go catch a broadway musical or something. Get a manicure. Do something useful for a change."
Willful Disgrace
Today's outburst only the latest in a string of incidents in which Baldwin has publicly employed homophobic slurs. Just last week he reportedly called a photographer a "c**ks*****g f*g" for trying to take a photograph of his child.
Although Baldwin's frustration with the paparazzi may be understandable, his tendency to blame gay people for the problem baffles most observers. Even more puzzling, however, are the excuses he employs to explain away his behavior.
"I called Anderson Cooper a butt pirate because he can't stop butting into my personal life," Baldwin later told E! News. "It has nothing to do with homosexuality at all. Frankly, I had no idea he was gay. He seems so normal. Never wears leather pants or anything.
"If Anderson or anyone else in the homo community was offended by the phrase butt pirate, I am truly sorry. I had no idea what those words meant when I said them. This whole anti-gay thing is ridiculous. Some of my best friends are comfortable with gay people."
Some members of the local LGBT community are not buying Baldwin's excuses. Jack McFarland, an openly gay actor and dancer in New York, says his apology is simply unacceptable.
"That's not really an apology," he says. "You can't just claim ignorance and expect to be forgiven. Take some responsibility."
