Baldwin donates performance fee back to foundation
Actor facing assault, harassment charges to perform at Owen Hart fundraising event
Alec Baldwin is donating his fee for an upcoming Calgary appearance back to the Owen Hart Foundation after the Hollywood A-lister was charged with assault and harassment.
Baldwin is scheduled to be in Calgary on Nov. 30 as the guest speaker for the Owen Hart Foundation’s 19th anniversary celebration.
But organizers of the An Evening with Alec Baldwin event said they were shocked to hear about the charges stemming from an altercation with a 49-year-old man over a parking spot in front of Baldwin’s home in New York City.
Officials say the men were arguing and pushing each other before the 60-year-old Baldwin hit the other man, who was taken to hospital with jaw pain.
Martha Hart, the founder and director of the foundation, says the former 30 Rock star is donating his performance fee back to the foundation.
“Alec is confident he will be fully released from any potential charges resulting from this incident in New York City and he wants what is best for the charity,” Hart said in a statement.
“He has therefore made this donation to show his support of the work the Owen Hart Foundation does.”
The foundation said one of its core values “is to be a non-judgmental organization” that is “in the business of providing second chances to people and (does) not apply double standards to anyone.”
The Nov. 30 event is billed as a night of impersonations, video clips and political insights from the performer and Saturday Night Live regular.
The event has raised funds for education, affordable housing and foreign aid to vulnerable individuals. Previous performers have included Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Elvis Costello.
Baldwin’s past scrapes with the law include a 2014 arrest in New York City for bicycling the wrong way on a one-way street and a 1995 arrest for allegedly slugging a paparazzi photographer in Los Angeles.
Authorities charged Baldwin with assault and harassment after the parking spot incident.
Baldwin was taken into custody Nov. 2 in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood and released two hours later. A court appearance has been set for Nov. 26.