Anderson Cooper may be one of America’s biggest “nice guys,” but he’s not immune to feuds, especially when he thinks they’re for a good cause. Recently, Cooper went toe-to-toe with Alec Baldwin after the actor became embroiled in an anti-gay controversy over an argument with a Daily Mail writer. Now, Baldwin is firing back at Cooper over his criticism, saying the CNN anchor doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
The drama all began last month when Baldwin sent out a series of angry tweets directed at George Stark, after the writer reported that Baldwin’s wife used her cellphone during James Gandolfini’s funeral.
“I’m gonna find you, George Stark, you toxic little queen, and I’m gonna f— … you … up,” tweeted Baldwin, before claiming that he’d put his foot upStark’s “a–” and then noting, “I’m sure you’d like it too much.”
Baldwin later apologized via a statement through GLAAD.
“My ill-advised attack on George Stark of the Daily Mail had absolutely nothing to do with issues of anyone’s sexual orientation,” he said in a statement to GLAAD. “My anger was directed at Mr. Stark for blatantly lying and disseminating libelous information about my wife and her conduct at our friend’s funeral service. As someone who fights against homophobia, I apologize.”
However, neither Baldwin’s tweets nor his apology sat well with Cooper and he criticized the actor, saying his comments were homophobic.
Why does #AlecBaldwin get a pass when he uses gay slurs? If a conservative talked of beating up a “queen” they would be vilified.
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) June 28, 2013
But since Baldwin is never one to hold his tongue, the actor recently fired back at Cooper during a recent interview with Howard Stern.
“Anderson Cooper has a job to do,” Baldwin remarked, according to Towleroad. “And that job is to try to reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn’t get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas. Now he’s the sheriff; now he’s running around writing everybody a ticket!”
Well, this beef is clearly turning into a mess of a story. However, Cooper’s time in the closet aside, he is still a gay man and Baldwin’s comments clearly pulled from gay lingo and used Stark’s presumed sexuality as the butt of his joke/diss.
But he’s not the only star to come under fire for offensive remarks. Check out some other offenders below. –nicholas robinson
