Alec Baldwin blasts TSA over pat-down of his baby, then backtracks
Alec Baldwin had choice words for the TSA following a return trip from the Bahamas, taking to Twitter yet again to air his grievances. And this time it had nothing to do with “Words With Friends.”
The tempermental “Blue Jasmine” actor, 55, got peeved Monday when he, wife Hilaria and their 5-month-old daughter, Carmen Gabriela, began traveling back to the U.S. after a trip to Paradise Island. Baldwin, who has a knack for Twitter tirades that get him into trouble, claimed that’s when his baby girl was patted down by security.
“Flying from Nassau, Bahamas 2 NY. TSA ‘random selects’ my 5 month old daughter 4 a pat down. I am not kidding. #travelinginUSisadisgrace,” he wrote Monday.
PHOTOS: The celebrity parenting handbook
But in his rage, the former MSNBC host flubbed a few facts, which he later acknowleged online, mistakenly pointing the finger at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and was subsequently schooled in geography.
A Homeland Security official told NBC News that the TSA doesn’t conduct screenings in the Bahamas because the Bahamas are not part of the United States, as Baldwin’s hashtag indicated. The cluster of islands actually comprises its own country, and screenings of passengers are conducted by the Nassau Airport Authority, the official said. The senior official also added that TSA does not pat down children younger than 12, though the administration has been known to do so in the past.
The error was also pointed out by a few of Baldwin’s followers, and the “30 Rock” alum then went back on Twitter on Tuesday to set the record straight.
“I wrote re security at Bahamas airport, US TSA or no, to highlight over- zealous practices,” he wrote, “But thank God 4 that brigade of geniuses...,” he added, referring to the quick-to-correct followers “led by @richardroeper, for your wealth of knowledge and understanding.”
“I guess what I’m saying is: Traveling in the US is a pain in the ... ass,” he concluded.
Still not the U.S., though, Alec.
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