ABC/Heidi Gutman(LOS ANGELES) — Alec Baldwin isn’t happy with the state of late night TV, singling out Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver and The Late Show‘s Stephen Colbert on Wednesday.
Talk shows were once promotional pit stops for some blithe chit chat about movies, etc,” Baldwin tweeted, adding, “Now the likes of @iamjohnoliver and @StephenAtHome have flipped that and they are beginning to resemble grand juries.”
That post led to a series of follow-up tweets where the 59-year-old actor, facing a backlash from followers, clarified his comments, insisting that he didn’t express a “preference” in his initial comments before calling someone who criticized his “obtuse” language an “angry” and “harsh” person.
Baldwin’s comments came a day after the Washington Post revealed a video in which Oliver — on a panel,
not on his show — grilled Dustin Hoffman repeatedly about Anna Graham Hunter’s accusations last month that Hoffman was personally intrusive, including allegedly touching her inappropriately, more than three decades ago on the set of TV film Death of a Salesman. Hunter was 17 at the time.
Colbert, meanwhile, had an awkward confrontation with Ben Affleck last month over harassment claims made against the Justice League star, leading him to ask, “This is a comedy show, correct?”
Baldwin later addressed the “tidal wave” of sexual misconduct allegations, warning, “Thus far, we’ve had a tidal wave of accusations,” he tweeted. Adding, in reference to disgraces movie producer Harvey Weinstein, “But what’s next? H.W. is the low-hanging fruit here. And if you don’t get some form of conviction w him, that will hurt the cause.”
He cautioned people that there would be “ultimate’ consequences.”
