GLAAD's Rich Ferraro Responds to Alec Baldwin's Finger-Pointing After MSNBC Show Cancellation

BWW reported yesterday that MSNBC fired actor and talk show host Alec Baldwin following a series of alleged anti-gay slurs he recently uttered. The former host of "Up Late with Alec Baldwin" then opened up to the Gothamist about his dismissal and the show's cancellation.

Addressing the supposed slurs he shouted at a photographer, Baldwin said: "'Faggot' is not the word that came out of my mouth. That I know. But you've got the fundamentalist wing of gay advocacy -- Rich Ferraro and Andrew Sullivan -- they're out there, they've got you. Rich Ferraro, this is probably one of his greatest triumphs. They killed my show. And I have to take some responsibility for that myself."

Ferraro, Vice president of publicity for GLAAD, responded today with a statement, as reported by The Advocate.

He said: "I consider GLAAD's campaigns to end the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay scouts, raise national visibility of the violence and inequality facing transgender people, and battling for marriage equality to be among my 'greatest triumphs.' But if a teacher, coach, local radio show host, or parent realizes that anti-LGBT slurs are outdated and unacceptable because of this Baldwin issue, I guess we'll call it a win. Alec Baldwin's team has not been open to turning this incident into an opportunity for public education and that's unfortunate."

Recent ratings for Baldwin's show have been less than stellar. His most recent show, featuring Debra Winger, delivered just 395,000 total viewers.

Baldwin is well known for his portrayal of 'Jack Donaghy' on NBC's 30 Rock, and often hosts the network's Saturday Night Live. Baldwin's Blue Jasmine just hit theaters, and the actor will next appear on the big screen in Caught Stealing.

The actor appeared on Broadway this summer in Orphans. His other stage credits include Twentieth Century, Short Talks on the Universe, A Streetcar Named Desire, Serious Money and Loot, as well as off-Broadway's Entertaining Mr. Sloane, South Pacific, Macbeth and Prelude to a Kiss.

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