American Kicks Alec Baldwin Off Plane

On Tuesday, actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight after a problem with a flight attendant. In a Twitter message after the incident, he posted that a flight attendant for the carrier forced him off the plane for playing Words W Friends while they were sitting at the gate…not moving.

Baldwin then took a stab at the airline, saying that it was no wonder why they declared bankruptcy recently. Oddly enough, he added, American Airlines plays 30 Rock (for which he is an actor) during its flights. This comment was accompanied with a promotion for United Airlines.

A source familiar with what happened told reporters that the confrontation started when a flight attendant scolded Baldwin for playing the Scrabble-inspired game on his iPad while the aircraft was still sitting at the gate. Later, the actor demanded to know the name of the flight attendant, which is when the confrontation escalated.

Baldwin tweeted later that he rebooked on a later flight with American Airlines after being removed from the plane. News about the booting spread really quick when other passengers began posting on Twitter, in what was committing the same offense that the 53-year-old actor just had.

Former MTV president Michael J. Wolfe posted that Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport, and they had to return to the gate. He noted the inconvenience of everyone being made to wait.

Additionally, LA-based sales expert and author Grant Cardone was at the airport in the Admiral’s Club when the call came in. He asked why Baldwin was being kicked, and they told him it was for abusive conduct toward a crew member. The employees were nervous about the actor’s celebrity status. He noted that they called it in because they know it would be problematic since a VIP was getting off the plane.

Cardone continued that he didn’t see the actor during the incident, and he wasn’t on the flight that Baldwin was trying to get on. The employees know they have to handle this guy, while he didn’t do anything that merits an arrest. However, they know it’s going to be an issue with customer satisfaction. He added that Baldwin could only blame himself, as no one can do that kind of thing on flights nowadays. No matter their social status, people can’t get away with anything. They have to be nicer to the staff than the staff is to them. Baldwin didn’t do much to alarm them, he added.

American Airlines says that it’s looking into what led to Baldwin being kicked off the flight. A spokesman only said that the carrier doesn’t comment on things that may have or may not have happened due to privacy concerns.