14 DAY TRIAL // The other day, Alec Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines flight after he refused to turn off his phone while the plane was still at the gate. He's now issued an apology of sorts for the incident.
During and shortly after the incident, which didn't go down without Baldwin making a huge scene, he kept tweeting about it, as we also informed you yesterday.
Since then, he's deleted his Twitter account but he's issued an apology in the form of an essay in the Huffington Post.
Baldwin admits he was using his phone after the door of the plane closed and the safety belt sign was turned on, but he insists that the plane was still at the gate. Plus, other passengers were doing just the same.
He also owns up to losing his temper when he was told he must turn off his electronic device – but he says he only did so when the flight attendant “singled [him] out” without a reason.
In other words, the outburst that got him booted off the plane was somewhat justified, the actor seems to be saying.
“First off, I would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard the American Airlines flight that I was thrown off of yesterday. It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone with my 'issue' with a certain flight attendant,” Baldwin writes.
“I was singled out by this woman in the most unpleasant of tones. I guess the fact that this woman, who had decided to make some example of me, while everyone else was left undisturbed, did get the better of me,” the actor explains.
He goes on to say that, as if what happened to him wasn't enough, he also wanted to complain about how airline companies used the 9/11 tragedy to make “air travel experience as inelegant as possible.”
In a statement to USA Today, American Airlines responds to all of Baldwin's claims, saying he was abusive and aggressive from the moment he got on the place, after assuming he'd be given preferential treatment just because he was a star.
“This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory,” AA says.
“He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation,” the airline company details.
“The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding,” AA concludes.
As always, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.