Alec Baldwin gets social media heat for wife's 'birthday present'
Hilaria and Alec Baldwin, seen attending the April 2022 opening night of Martin McDonagh's "Hangmen" on Broadway. Credit: Getty Images / Jason Mendez
Long Island native Alec Baldwin has faced internet trolls over the last several days after asking fans to follow his wife's Instagram account as one of his birthday presents to her.
“Hey, everybody, it's January 5th, the day before my wife's birthday," the three-time Emmy Award winner, 64, said Thursday in the first of four Instagram videos. He went on to say that his wife, author and podcaster Hilaria Baldwin, who was turning 39, was "just centimeters shy of a million followers on Instagram. And I would like to ask you as a birthday gift … would you follow her on Instagram?"
Entertainment-industry colleagues including actors Frances Fisher, Julie Halston and Elisabeth Röhm posted supportive comments, but sniping soon began.
"This can’t be serious," wrote one person, adding a laughing-until-I'm-crying emoji. "I’m unfollowing you too Alec for that crazy request! No thank you!" posted another. A third person wrote, "I actually feel sorry for you. You were a great actor and now you’re trying to get your wife (whose talent seems to have been marrying you) 1 million followers. How sad."
Some made fun of Hilaria Baldwin, who was born Hilary Thomas in Boston but spent part of her childhood with her American expatriate family in Mallorca, Spain, where she became bilingual and developed a strong affinity for the culture. "Are you referencing centimeters instead of inches as a nod to her Spanish heritage?" posted one person. Hilaria Baldwin never has said she's a Spanish native or of Spanish descent.
Others criticized her for being the mother of seven children. "Just keep having kids and they can follow her," said one person. Another wondered, in a subsequent post, "What is her talent? Getting pregnant every year?" And yet others castigated the Amityville-born and Massapequa-raised Alec Baldwin for not asking for charitable donations instead. The nonprofit Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation disbursed more than $1.6 million in 2019, the most recent year for which IRS Form 990 is available, with $26 in operating expenses.
Balancing the trolls were commenters offering perspective. "He’s just asking [people] to support his wife. That’s all. No big deal. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill," said one person of Baldwin's third video. Said another, "He’s not a world leader or anything. If he wants to get more followers for his wife that’s his business. Geez the fact you sort get so triggered over something like this is weird."
On Saturday, Alec Baldwin posted a photo of a handwritten note reading, "Many thanks to everyone who helped get my wife to 1 million followers."
