Alec Baldwin Fired by MSNBC: Will He Join Paula Deen in the Media Cornfield?

Alec Baldwin’s Up Late can now be officially called late – in that it’s been killed off and put to rest. MSNBC, the left leaning talk and pundit cable channel, axed the actor’s chat fest after only 5 entries. TMZ is reporting that Baldwin has been fired. Now, it remains to be seen – will Baldwin go on a similar journey which felled southern cooking star Paula Deen after her controversy?

Baldwin’s latest controversy – for anyone keeping track it has been an exhaustive journey of violent eruptions, verbal abuse scuffles with paparazzi, news journalists and family strife for years now – involves a homophobic rant against a photographer. I think it’s a safe bet at this point to not even care what exactly Baldwin got himself embroiled in that got him fired. Of course, it is essential to note the nature of his hate speech, and any hatred directed at anyone is completely ugly, but it’s almost a moot and boring point to now declare: Alec Baldwin simply can’t control his temper. What’s most important now is this: Will the media – including corporate companies like broadcast networks and studios – wish him away into the cornfield, the way in which Paula Deen was treated?

Paula Deen, the once admired Food Network show host, fell from grace after being embroiled in a lawsuit which revealed a racially charged personal history. Like Baldwin, her show was pulled by her network and her corporate sponsors dried up. No matter that Deen eventually won the lawsuit brought against her by a former employee who accused her of vile behavior and insults, Deen’s media and merchandising empire fairly crumbled under the media onslaught. Will Baldwin suffer the same kind of professional ostracism?

Rod Serling’s wonderfully iconic TV show, “The Twilight Zone” gave us the expression “wish them into the cornfield.” In the incredibly spooky episode, “It’s A Good Life”, a little boy played by Billy Mumy (Lost In Space) has the awesome power to teleport people he dislikes into a limbo area he calls the cornfield. It’s a cosmic punishment for the naughty. Let’s see if Alec Baldwin joins Paula Deen in the mystical and mythical place. It seems there’s so many people going there lately, there may not be room for them all, but certainly if Deen deserves her banishment, Baldwin just may be sharing the infamous pop culture spot with her quite soon.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/11/26/alec-baldwin-fired-msnbc-up-late/