Actor Alec Baldwin crossed paths with a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on Monday and was filmed in a heated confrontation with a protester that culminated in him getting escorted away by the New York Police Department (NYPD).
A video of the incident shows the actor speaking with two or three protesters. One is heard asking Baldwin, “Who’s pockets are you in? You work for Hollywood; do you condemn Israel?”
Actor Alec Baldwin got into a confrontation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator during a rally in Midtown Manhattan tonight. Baldwin just happened to be walking through the area at the time. @NBCNewYork #nbc4ny @AlecBaldwin #alecbaldwin #nyc #nbcnews pic.twitter.com/epewydLSJS
— Jesse Hamilton (@JesseJHamilton) December 18, 2023
Baldwin responded, “You’ve already made up your mind to every question you’ve got, right? I’m in Hollywood’s pockets, you said? You ask stupid questions. Ask me a smart question! Ask a smart question!” He then began pushing toward the protester.
Several police officers surrounded Baldwin, as the protester yelled, “Go f*** yourself,” and “Why did you even come here?” The actor then yelled back, “Shut the f*** up!” as he was escorted away.
Baldwin had been walking by the demonstration near West 29th Street when protesters spotted him and darted toward him, accusing him of supporting Israel.
According to the New York Post, when he was asked if he condemned Israel, Baldwin responded, “No, I support peace for Gaza.” He was not involved in the protest in any way and had been on his way to volunteer to teach an acting class.
Response from protesters
In the background of the video is one of the main organizers of the pro-Palestinian protests in New York City, Nerdeen Kiswani. She began the organization Within Our Lifetime, which is infamous for its “Globalize the intifada” chants.
On her Instagram account, she posted a video of the incident with the caption, “We really ran into Alec Baldwin at today's March for a global strike where he refuses to condemn Israel for killing over 25,000 Palestinians, including at least 8,000 Palestinian children!
"Killing people is clearly no big deal to him since he had experience with it. I was just so over it and wanted the media to get out of the way of the March and stop focusing on the most sensationalist thing at the moment, as they tend to do.”
The protests took place in Manhattan at Grand Central Station and Penn Station as part of a protest called a “Global Strike for Gaza.”