Thursday, May 21, 2009

Alec Baldwin Says, "I'd Like to Offer an Apology" to Anyone Who Took Offense" to My Pinay Mail-Order-Bride Joke

21 May 2009

"I'd like to offer an apology ... " It is with those words that Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin began his blog post to seek rectification of his remarks over the David Letterman show on May 12 which triggered a strong outburst of public condemnation from various sectors of Philippine society, most notably from Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr., Senator Loren Legarda, and Gabriela. 

Baldwin's blog post appears in The Huffington Post.  The full text of his apology reads:

I'd like to offer an apology and a clarification to remarks I made recently.

While on the David Letterman program, I joked that I might need a "mail-order bride" to achieve the goal of having more children in my life. I believe that most people understood that this was a joke and took it as such. (A dated reference, no doubt, and another sign of my advancing age.) However, I do apologize to anyone who took offense. The comments of some Philippine government officials come as no surprise to me, either. Even the one by a former action film star-turned-Senator who beckoned me to come to the Philippines so he could "beat" me over my comment.

Such anger and frustration about the issue of sex trafficking is understandable. The Philippines has suffered significant problems with the issue of sex trafficking and I would like to turn your attention to the work of an organization called Love146 that my brother Stephen educated me about. Visit their website at www.love146.org and learn of the important work that is being done, in various regions of the world, by Rob Morris and his co-founders and staff.

I had met with Rob in New York, some months before the Letterman appearance, in the hopes of helping him raise money for this group. Again, I apologize for the perceived insensitivity of that remark and ask you to visit the Love146 site.

This is GMA-7's report on Alec Baldwin's apology courtesy of GMAnews.tv:


Alec Baldwin's bio is here in his website.  It says in part:

Alec has starred in several films, including "Beetlejuice", "Miami Blues", "The Hunt for Red October", "Malice", "The Shadow", "Glengarry Glen Ross", "Heaven's Prisoners", "Ghosts of Mississippi", "The Edge", "The Cat in the Hat", "The Aviator", "The Departed", "Running with Scissors", "The Good Shepherd" and many others. He received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for "The Cooler", directed by Wayne Kramer (2003) and was nominated for an Oscar for the same film. 

On television, Baldwin is currently starring in NBC's Emmy award winning comedy series, "30 ROCK", for which he received the 2007 Golden Globe, SAG and Television Critics Association awards as Best Actor in a comedy. Baldwin has starred on "Knot's Landing" for CBS and numerous other TV shows including "Dress Grey" (a miniseries for NBC), "Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial (for TNT) and appearances on "Saturday Night Live" (too many to count).

His production company, El Dorado Pictures, has produced such films as "The Confession" (for Showtime) which won the Writer's Guild Award for Best original screenplay and David Mamet's "State and Main", among others.

Alec is an out-spoken supporter of various causes related to public policy, including environmentalism, the government's support of the arts, campaign finance reform, animal rights and gun control. He serves on the board of directors of the East Hampton Daycare Center, People For American Way and NYU Tisch School of the Arts Dean's Council. He is on the advisory board of the NYU/Brennan Center for Justice and the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. He is a vigorous supporter of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), just to name a couple.

Baldwin is a graduate of New York University (BFA, Tisch School of the Arts), 1994. 

Alec has a daughter, Ireland Eliesse. 

In preparing this website, Alec has said, "I'd like to welcome all those who are curious about my work and where that might be headed in the next several years. Acting has provided me with some of the highest highs in my life. I hope that I will have the opportunity to make more films and appear in shows that people want to see. To be able to do this for a living is a tremendous gift."

More on this when I return.


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