President wishes Alec Baldwin ‘luck’
Alec Baldwin was released from police custody late Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump, the inspiration for Baldwin’s satirical impression on “Saturday Night Live,” wished the actor “luck” in his latest legal troubles.
Baldwin was arrested early Friday on suspicion of punching a motorist in a fight over a parking spot outside his Manhattan home, police told the New York Post.
When reporters asked Trump if he had any comment on Baldwin’s arrest, he said, perhaps jokingly, “I wish him luck.”
Baldwin, 60, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and was held for several hours at a precinct station in Greenwich Village, police said. The New York Post reported that an unidentified third party was holding a parking spot for Baldwin on East 10th Street when another driver pulled in and took the spot away, police said.
The New York Times reported that the alleged victim is a 49-year-old male who suffered an injury to his jaw. He was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
The actor, who hosts a Sunday night talk show on ABC, is famous for losing his cool, going back to at least 1995 when he allegedly assaulted a photographer for videotaping Kim Basinger, his wife at the time, and their 3-day-old daughter, Ireland, when they were returning home from the hospital.
Baldwin’s marriage to Basinger was famously volatile, as was the custody battle over Ireland after their 2002 divorce. As part of their divorce and custody agreement, Baldwin was expected to attend anger therapy sessions and parenting school, New York magazine reported.
Baldwin was not always successful at keeping his anger in check, as was evidenced by the angry voicemail he left for then 11-year-old Ireland that went viral in 2007.
He later issued an apology on his website: “I’m sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child,” E! News reported.