People News

Alec Baldwin not hard on Weiner, possible political move?

By April MacIntyre Jun 10, 2011, 15:41 GMT

03/07/2011 - Alec Baldwin - 26th Annual Guild Hall of East Hampton Academy of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Awards Dinner - Arrivals - Cipriani 42nd Street - New York City, NY, USA © Jakes Van Der Watt / PR Photos

We love actor Alec Baldwin, his movie roles in The Cooler, The Departed, Married to the Mob and of course 30 Rock have established him as one of the best to watch on screen.

The actor has long been outspoken on political subjects, booked on many news chat shows and writing op-eds for Huffington Post and other news outlets on matters of policy and law.

Now Baldwin is talking about politician Anthony Weiner, defending the congressman's ego-driven impulsive social media fueled sex scandal as just part of his "busy" lifestyle exacerbated by his "constant pressure cooker" political life.

Weiner sent explicit pictures to various women via Twitter, while he also sent "sex" text messages and had intimate phonechats with other women.

Baldwin opined via The Huffington Post:

"My thought on Weiner is that he is a very busy man... It's exhausting. He exists under a constant pressure cooker of self-analysis and public appraisal. Like other politicians, he needs something to take the edge off. For some people, regardless of occupation, that could mean booze, drugs, gambling, food or shopping. For high functioning men like Weiner... that leaves one tried and true source of a reliable high. The affirmation that comes when someone lets you know they want to sleep with you. Or even cyber-sleep with you."

Baldwin also feels sorry for Weiner:   "Weiner is a modern human being. So he ensnared himself in things that modern humans do. When I first heard about his problems, I snickered and made jokes, too. Now, I'm sad for him, his family, his district and his colleagues."

Baldwin was under the bug light in 2007, when his private voice mail was leaked to the public revealing his rant about his daughter Ireland, who he called a "rude thoughtless little pig."

Baldwin apologized for his angry voicemail, blaming the stress of his custody fight with his estranged wife Kim Basinger and insisting: "I have a normal relationship with my daughter."

"I'm sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child," the actor wrote on his web site, following the release of the message.

"I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now. You have to go through this to understand. (Although I hope you never do.) I am sorry for what happened," he added.