Alec Baldwin has been slammed for blaming “cancel culture” in response to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation after being found guilty of multiple instances of sexual harassment.
New Yorkers were left shocked yesterday when Cuomo announced his resignation after a state investigation found that he was guilty of creating a “hostile work environment” and “sexually harassing current and former state employees,” according to NPR.
United States President Joe Biden immediately called on Cuomo to resign after “New York’s attorney general released the results of an investigation that found Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women.”
New Yorker Baldwin was quick to issue a response to the situation — much to the dismay of Twitter.
What did Baldwin say?
The 63-year-old took to his verified Twitter account to air his personal thoughts, with the 30 Rock actor writing, “Regardless of what you think of Cuomo, this is a tragic day.”
He continued, “Party politics in this country draw ambitious but ultimately isolated, even socially maladjusted men and women who, given the current cancel culture, will likely have their shortcomings exposed and magnified.”
In Baldwin’s response, he appears to equate sexual harassment with “shortcomings” and consequences with “cancel culture.” Hours later, he posted another statement on to Instagram. Baldwin wrote, “I am not seeking to “minimize” Cuomo’s actions regarding sexual harassment. What he did is wrong. Everyone gets that. And now he is leaving.” He went on to express, “When I wrote that this is tragic, I meant to suggest that nearly all powerful politicians are isolated, in the extreme, from reality.”
Continuing to confuse his followers, Baldwin added, “What makes me sad about it is that while Cuomo got caught, and has been punished in some way, there are countless others like him. Guilty of one thing. Being completely disconnected from what most others think and feel.”
As one would expect, Twitter was quick to call Baldwin out for his seemingly bizarre comments and apparent wave of sympathy for the resigned governor.
How did Twitter respond?
It was a “tragic day” indeed for Baldwin. Critics and commentators instantly piled up on the actor for his untimely tweet. Podcaster Wayne Dupree wrote, “Alec Baldwin responds to Cuomo’s resignation: “This is a tragic day” I guess Alec doesn’t have any sympathy for the 11 women and the 74K pieces of evidence reviewed against Cuomo, eh? What a sick statement by the actor.”
Sharing two unfortunate images of Baldwin covered in goo while starring the movie adaptation of The Cat in the Hat, one commentator poked fun at the actor. They wrote, “No Alec Baldwin, Cuomo resigning isn’t tragic. This is tragic.”
“I agree with Alec Baldwin, it is indeed a tragedy that Andrew Cuomo’s unforgivable shortcomings ended his career in public service so horrifically. But New Yorkers deserve better from their leaders as Cuomo himself said about his predecessor Eliot Spitzer,” wrote author Grant Stern who decided to be more diplomatic in their response.
It’s clear that the majority of Twitter is not entertaining Baldwin’s sympathetic comments about Cuomo, with many finding them hasty given the circumstances of the situation.