Alec Baldwin is once again letting his straight privilege show and it’s not a good look.
It all started when out comedian James Adomian recently told The Daily Beast that he thinks SNL creator Lorne Michaels is afraid to cast gay men.
“I think that Lorne Michaels is afraid of America’s dads,” Adomian remarked. Then he impersonated a douchey straight guy and said, “I’m not gonna let my kid watch a show with a gay man.”
And that’s when Baldwin got involved.
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The 59-year-old actor responded with a barrage of snarky tweets that basically proved Adomian’s point (and reminded everyone that, deep down, Baldwin has always been and will always be a toxic male.)
Related: Alec Baldwin Throws Yet Another Temper Tantrum, Calls Photographer A “C**ksucking F*g!”
First, he retweeted the Daily Beast article with the caption, “My dream is to, one day, be as gifted, as brave, as all-knowing as @jamesadomian.”
My dream is to, one day, be as gifted, as brave, as all-knowing as @jamesadomianhttps://t.co/qXyob7vqJX
— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) March 17, 2018
People quickly called Baldwin out for being snarky.
When person actually took the time to point out the incredibly low number of SNL’s LGBTQ cast members. (Since SNL first premiered over 40 years ago, it has seen over 150 cast members, only two of whom were openly gay.)
I don’t understand why you link to articles you don’t like. I’m a fan, and now I know that SNL has only hired 2 openly gay male performers in its entire history, and yeah, that number seems weirdly low and problematic. Does Lorne Michaels have a problem with gay men?
— onlyconnect (@onlyc0nnect) March 17, 2018
Baldwin responded to the tweet with yet another dig at Adomian, who auditioned for SNL 13 years ago.
Do you think he has a problem with them? Based upon what? The bitter recriminations of those he didn’t hire?
Consider the source.— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) March 17, 2018
That’s when gay comedian Guy Branum, host of Talk Show the Game Show, Guy Branum, got involved, asking Baldwin to name the gay men SNL has allegedly hired.
Well, Alec, can you identify a gay man he did hire? That’s like saying the only women who think there’s misogyny are the ones who haven’t gotten to be President yet.
— Guy Branum (@guybranum) March 18, 2018
To which, Baldwin responded:
I can identify several.
But they were not out then and are not out now.
You realize that possibility, right?— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) March 19, 2018
Evidently, in Baldwin’s narrow-minded, white, cisgender, heterosexual, male-dominated world, hiring closeted gay men who are not allowed to live their lives freely and openly = LGBTQ representation!
Branum wasn’t having any of it. He shut down the conversation by calling out Baldwin’s complete unwillingness to see past his own straight privilege or even acknowledge the fact that maybe, just maybe, there might be a disparity in SNL‘s casting.
That’s the point, Alec. Opportunities are denied us for being out. The fact that gay men get cast on SNL when they stay closeted and play ball doesn’t make the show inclusive. But please say “Hi” to your secret gay friends for me! https://t.co/o7Odx7kJ7S
— Guy Branum (@guybranum) March 19, 2018
Related: MSNBC Fires Alec Baldwin For Homophobic Rant And Divalike Behavior
ChrisK
Of all the thing to be worked up over. Ridiculous and petty BS.
ChrisK
Reminds me of the uproar when Baldwin called the starbucks barista a queen. Never mind that allot of gay men use that term.
dinard38
I agree. None of these comments made by Baldwin were homophobic…..and frankly, the LGBT community is totally overusing that word. So Baldwin disagreed with a gay man. That makes him a homophobe?
And what the hell is a toxic male and Straight Privilege?
tham
Omg, why do we look to the past as an indicator of today’s morals?
Yes, there was only two openly gay actors in 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s.
Yes, up until maybe 10 years ago, gays were not just second class citizens legally, but the majority of the US was OK with it.
Now is now, what they do going forward is WAY more important than…let’s say…what they did back in the past.
But hey, if we’re going to Monday Quarterback history…let’s start with james buchanan…like, why is he considered the “worst” president in history…hmm
DCguy
I love the excuse of ‘Well he’s hired them, but I can’t say who because they aren’t out.”
1. That could be a lie
2. Hollywood has ALWAYS been fine with hiring closet cases who pretended to be straight.
tham
Why would you be a “closet case” if you were in the closet between 1977 to let’s say…2000?
I mean, we’re you here, in the US during that time?
DCguy
Sweetie, thats when at least one of the openly gay people were on the show.
And the comment where Baldwin stated that he knew of gay people on the show but wouldn’t name them because they were out was made just a day or so ago, it was right there in the article, so not sure why you’re trying to pretend you didn’t see that part.
AxelDC
Please show me where Alec Baldwin made a homophobic comment? Your opinion of him as a “toxic male” is yours, but calling him homophobic is both unfounded and over the top.
In fact, your paragraph here is more toxic and discriminatory than anything Baldwin said. If this is the level of hate that Queerty wants to encourage, then I may have to check out of your small world:
Evidently, in Baldwin’s narrow-minded, white, cisgender, heterosexual, male-dominated world, hiring closeted gay men who are not allowed to live their lives freely and openly = LGBTQ representation!
LABrad
They also accused him of having “straight privilege”. What the hell is that? Doesn’t that mean you have to have sex with women? That’s disgusting, not a privilege.
Brian
You’re very mixed up. This incident didn’t include a “homophobic comment,” and the author didn’t suggest so. Alec Baldwin *previously* made many homophobic comments, and examples of that are found in the hyperlink above.
NateOcean
“…only two openly gay men…”
Ok, Leslie Jones I’ve got; who’s the other one?
Kangol
Now, now, Leslie Jones is a out, proud and at times waaaaaay too thirsty cis-hetero woman.
She doesn’t even give an iota of gay male anything, to tell the truth.
tham
What?
A gay man would never say that.
Oh the Russian trolls are out today.
DCguy
Terry Sweenie, but I believe he came out after he was on the show in the history of SNL I read a while back.
Kangol
SNL has been derelict in its hiring for years. It has never hired an Asian American comedian full time. It has a terrible track record on hiring Black or Latina women comedians. It also has not hired out gay male comedians. Lorne Michaels is the one to blame, but the cast could speak out more too. I take Alec Baldwin as a mixed bag; he can be very progressive, and very retrograde, on sexuality, gender and everything else, depending upon the issue and the day of the month.
Kangol
Should read: “It also has barely hired out gay male comedians over the years.”
He BGB
SNL,needs to do something because the newer cast members are not funny. My Aunt Fanny is funnier than some of them. I thought it was a toughauditioning process that took place. I watch online the next day and after it’s over, think, that really stinks! Like when you wrote hilarious stuff smoking pot and then read it sober and thought , crap! But it’s prob the lousy WRITERS, too. I don’t care if they’re straight or gay. Just be funny.
MikeM
I agree. The political stuff is funny but easy enough considering whom they’re mocking. The rest of the skits are mediocre.
tham
This is such Russian Troll bait.
Brody
You can’t dis Alec Baldwin, he’s a Friend of Rosie’s.
KaiserVonScheiss
What is a ‘toxic male’?
This whole thing seems ridiculous. Making something out of nothing.
Brian
sort of like an obsession with masculinity… it’s “machismo” to the point of exhaustion… etc.
miserylovedme24
Typical of a Graham Gremore article. It’s like every time I see a terrible article posted on this site, I immediately know who wrote it. It’s getting old.
DarkZephyr
Gonna have to agree with you on this one. This article is over the top and the term “toxic male” is being thrown around stupidly.
mhoffman953
Alec Baldwin is an awful person. However, I don’t understand what a “toxic male” is. Why do we never hear the term “toxic female”?
Brody
In a nutshell, it’s any white dude who doesn’t adhere to liberal ideology.
Jaxton
Alec Baldwin has never been particularly funny. Gay identity politics is a recipe for low ratings.
Kieran
I don’t know why anyone should be surprised by this news. SNL has always relied on cheap homophobic jokes and Alec Baldwin has a long reputation of being an obnoxious, homophobic prick.
MonkeyMan
The whole “toxic male” concept is so sexist towards men I wanna barf as it implies that there’s a particular kind of bad behavior that only men exhibit. What a load. Just because a man gets fired up and aggressive doesn’t mean that he’s toxic. It means that he’s angry. Just call Alec “angry” or label him as “petty”. But why “toxic”? Is he poisoning the World with his anger? Don’t take away the man’s right to be angry just because he’s straight, white and male. Alec Baldwin will naturally fight and protect SNL over any petty or legitimate controversy because the show is a cornerstone of his career and he loves the cast and crew and most of the actors he’s worked with on the show. It’s his prerogative as one of SNL’s highlights, give him a break.
galaxy8.news
There is an apparent personality clash between Alec Baldwin, onlyconnect, and Guy Branum. Plus the disdain for “@jamesadomian.” is more than evident on Baldwin’s behalf. The banter back and forth is unfortunate, but it is far from being privileged or more than quippy.
There are other positions on SNL that are hiding from sight. Writers who have held spots for SNL and gone on to be significant in their own right have been plenty and gay and other. The fact that some of the best material being shined by straight and closeted actors is being written and produced by a well-rounded group of individuals who identify through many communities in however manner they wish to do so. Being selected for an SNL acting position is not easy, and much is required to remain a part of the ensemble.
Yes, the qualifications should be the same for both gay and straight performers. In saying so, we must protect the gay community in standing proudly by never making the requirement for social norms to make it a condition, that anyone, should be hired for being gay before their skills hone up to that of their fellow challenger in the business.
DarkZephyr
I really think the headline and this article’s reaction to the debate with Alec Baldwin is a little exaggerated. He wasn’t being a “toxic male” or necessarily homophobic. I think he was just defending the show that has been giving him so many gigs (that he’s been excelling at) lately. This is the kind of sh** that makes Conservatives laugh at “Liberals eating each other Ha ha ha”. Let’s not give them fuel for that. Let’s not smear somebody who’s been fantastic at getting under Trump’s skin.
The debate itself was fine. The responses to Baldwin were fine. HIS responses weren’t homophobic or “toxic male”.
dean089
“Back to…” assumes that at some point he stopped.
PinkoOfTheGange
So this is what Graham choose to be upset about today? Interesting: 1st world problems at best.
What happened to the 80% rule?
Kat Casey
I would love to see more community representation on SNL. And while it does seem that LGBTQ community members occupy a larger proportion of “entertainment” than we “should” based upon the percentage of people who identify as LGBTQ, I wonder what number of gay men SNL is supposed to have hired by now. While it is difficult to ascertain what percentage of the population is “gay” (And what constitutes someone who is gay so as to meet the definition? A seemingly more difficult task with every passing day.), a rather common percentage these days is in the 4% range, meaning that if SNL has had 150 or so cast members then 6 should have been “gay”. If half were women and half were men that means 3 gay men should have been hired, one more than the 2 that have. But that’s still falling short by 50%! My point being, it is very difficult to start putting quotas and numbers on things like this, especially when dealing with such a small sample size (150+) people. Maybe we just need more gay men to be funny!
And I have found Alec to be quite funny at times. He also seems prone to being a complete asshole much of the time. He hardly seems worth wasting too much emotion over. His panties seem to bunch quite easily.
Polaro
SNL really hasn’t been that funny in decades. I like the political parody, but the rest of it is kind of generic.
Polaro
P.S. the Baldwin bashing is so tired. The political correctness on steroids that is all the rage on the fringe left is exhaustively over done and detrimental.
oz1967
Any Day now Baldwin is going to turn into a rapid Republican he’s old, rich, white and angry perfect trifecta for that party
ChrisK
Way to expose your own bigotry. I’d give you a better chance of being Republican.
MonkeyMan
That’s about the dumbest comment I’ve read in a long time: Alec Baldwin’s career starts and ends with Hollywood, and if there’s one business that’s full of LGBT people and their supporters then it’s Hollywood.
Alec is genuinely pro LGBT but even if he weren’t, he’d always put on a facade of support for the community as he’d otherwise lose his career in a heartbeat.
We should appreciate that Alec keeps it genuine and doesn’t just kiss up to anyone just because they’re LGBT or belong to any other minority.
A straight, rich, white, middle-aged man is not anti-LGBT just because he gets into an argument with a gay man.
SNL is not the enemy!
oz1967
Judging by the replies on my comment someone has a big hardon for the big angry bear that is Alec Baldwin
scooter12
Come on, this hyper-sensitive crap is getting old…this was simply a bitter queen who didn’t get cast using his LGBT status as the reason- frankly, I don’t thing he is very funny! And being funny is kind of a requirement- so get off your gay horse and stop thinking that every single thing that doesnt go right is because someone was discriminating against you….Alec is a friend of the gay community, and your article is, frankly, pathetic
GayEGO
Uhmmmmmm……back in the 1950s they sent gay men to prison Let’s talk about today as we have Marriage Equality and many courts and judges who stand up for us, those that don’t, lose, plain and simple.
Aromaeus
Are they really ‘old ways’ if it’s something he’s still doing?
Kevan1
Baldwin has always been a homophobic ass. Like the Klan say they are not racist, Baldwin does not dislike gays.