Alec Baldwin: Goodbye, Public Life

"I’ve had a relatively charmed life. I loved to be out in the city. New York was my town. I’ve had people come up to me and say, 'You’re a great New Yorker. You’ve given your time and money to so many New York charities. You’re a great supporter of the arts. I like some of your movies—and some of your movies suck, actually.' (It’s New York, so people give you their unvarnished opinion.) But people in general had been very kind to me for years. And then, last November, everything changed.

"Am I a homophobe? Look, I work in show business. I am awash in gay people, as colleagues and as friends. I’m doing Rock of Ages one day, making out with Russell Brand. Soon after that, I’m advocating with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Cynthia Nixon for marriage equality. I’m officiating at a gay friend’s wedding. I’m not a homophobic person at all. But this is how the world now sees me. I haven’t changed, but public life has. [snip] I’m aware that it’s ironic that I’m making this case in the media—but this is the last time I’m going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again." - Alec Baldwin, in a lengthy piece written for New York Magazine that dwells heavily on the infamous incident with a TMZ reporter.