Alec Baldwin, MSNBC part ways; ‘Up Late with Alec Baldwin’ canceled

Tough news for the few out there who were actually watching / enjoying the MSNBC show hosted by Alec Baldwin. The former “30 Rock” star will not be returning to the network, as his show has been more or less canceled now following a series of paparazzi encounters and allegations of homophobia. The cable network and Baldwin’s rep Matthew Hiltzik each confirmed the news in a joint statement today, where they referred to the decision as “mutual.”

To many, this was mostly inevitable after looking back at some of Baldwin’s misdeeds over the past several weeks. While he was originally suspended for only a matter of two shows by the network, he had expressed previously doubt that his show would ever air again. He was particularly saddened because the “Up Late with Alec Baldwin” staff had worked hard to prepare a show that would be touching on the anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination, and now this was a special that was not going to get an opportunity to air.

The shame that comes out of this is that Baldwin is actually a very talented interviewer, and has been for some time. He’s also a pretty well-read, intellectual guy. However, none of this necessitates that he gets a pass for saying some of the stuff that he has said; while some of his worst comments fall clearly into the category of “alleged,” even some of the ones that have been confirmed are still in poor taste. The ratings for his show were not particularly good in the first place, so there was ultimately no reason for MSNBC to keep a guy around who was not really bringing them anything other than a series of negative headlines over and over again.

Do you think that MSNBC is making the right decision, and are you somewhat disturbed that they were unable to come to the conclusion that Baldwin was trouble a little earlier on? Be sure to share your thoughts below.

Photo: MSNBC