Alec Baldwin Rant: Actor Leaving Public Life - 'I'm Done With It'

Alec Baldwin has written a lengthy rant about his relationship with hometown New York, a confrontation with Shia LaBeouf and his decision to leave public life.

He wrote the explosive piece for the latest issue of New York magazine (via Vulture), and it began with allegations of homophobia levelled at him last year following a bust-up with paparazzi, and the alleged use of an homophobic slur (which Baldwin denies).

Baldwin says: "What happened is, a TMZ videographer ambushed me as I was putting my family in a car, and I chased him down the block and said, "C**ksucking mother**ker" or whatever (when I have some volatile interaction with these people, I don't pull out a pen and take notes on what I said).

"I knew that guy. This was a guy who is on a bike usually, and when we get in a car, he follows us. Very aggressive. The same guy who followed my wife on a bicycle, and when she slipped and fell trying to dodge him and hurt her leg, he laughed at her and said, 'See what I made you do?' At my wife. How would that make you feel?"

The 30 Rock actor said he reached out to LGBT organisations in an effort to ease the public perception and learn the power of words can hurt people.

Baldwin goes on to describe working briefly with troubled young actor Shia LaBeouf, who he nearly starred alongside in a play called Orphans which was to be directed for Broadway by Dan Sullivan.

The actor said of LaBeouf: "He seemed like a lot of young actors today—scattered, as he was coming from making six movies in a row or whatever."

Baldwin goes on to say that LaBeouf was adamant about learning every one of his lines straight away, and then confronted Baldwin – who had not - in front of the show's entire crew. LaBeouf told Baldwin that he would continue to read his lines whether Baldwin had said his or not.

"We all sat, frozen," said Baldwin. "I snorted a bit, and, turning to him in front of the whole cast, I asked, 'If I don't say my words fast enough, you're going to just say your next line?' I said. 'You realise the lines are written in a certain order?' He just glared at me."

Baldwin then says that he told Sullivan that one of the actors would have to go, even offering to go himself instead of the younger actor. "They said no, no, no, no, and they fired him. And I think he was shocked. He had that card, that card you get when you make films that make a lot of money that gives you a certain kind of entitlement. I think he was surprised that it didn't work in the theatre."

In a later incident Baldwin describes a false report from the Mail Online that his wife had tweeted during the funeral of actor James Gandolfini. He called the reporter who wrote the story a "toxic little queen" which led to American news anchor Anderson Cooper, who said Baldwin should be "vilified".

"At the time, I didn't view 'toxic little queen' as a homophobic statement," said Baldwin. "I didn't realise how those words could give offense, and I'm sorry for that."

He goes on to describe his hatred for what the media has become, and after recognising the irony of him using the media to defend himself, says: "This is the last time I'm going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again."

"There's a way I could have done things differently. I know that. If I offended anyone along the way, I do apologise. But the solution for me now is: I've lived this for 30 years, I'm done with it.

"And, admittedly, this is how I feel in February of 2014.

"Shia LaBeouf went to a film screening recently and he wore a bag over his head and the bag says I AM NOT FAMOUS ­ANYMORE. And there was truly a part of me that felt sorry for him, oddly enough."

You can read the full length piece here.