The Huffington Post has become a de facto trendy blog haven for celebrities, but does that mean these famous folks can say whatever they want to about the site, its readers or the brand itself?
Veteran HuffPo blogger and “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin seems to think so.
Baldwin expressed dissatisfaction with reactions to his article on Sunday and tweeted, “The reading comprehension level of the HuffPo comments folks is alarmingly low. I mean, downright awful.”
A day earlier, a PETA spokesperson tweeted a link to Baldwin’s HuffPost piece about the debt deal, “It’s Time To Suck It Up And Pay Our Bill.” Baldwin is a long-time PETA spokesperson.
This was not the first time the “It’s Complicated” actor has blasted HuffPo on Twitter. Last month, the comedian published a similar tweet in the aftermath of what appeared to be a fairly negative response to one of his blog entries.
“A lot, a real lot, of sanctimonious d-bags on HuffPo,” Baldwin tweeted shortly after his article on Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter photo scandal appeared. (Alec Baldwin: A lot of ‘sanctimonious d-bags on HuffPo’)
“My thought on Weiner is that he is a very busy man,” Baldwin wrote. “Like most, although not all, politicians, he probably spends a great deal of time going to meetings, raising campaign funds and seizing upon every opportunity to remind people of how great he is as a public servant and a human being. It’s exhausting.”
Though HuffPo did not respond to requests for comment about its policy on bloggers and contributors publicly condemning the site in some fashion, PETA said it hoped Baldwin would not disparage the animal rights organization.
“Alec is a vehement opponent of cruelty to animals and known for speaking his mind, and pretty much everyone joins him in being concerned about the low standards of education and public discourse currently seen in this country — but I do hope he exempts my blog posts on the Huffington Post site from his criticism,” PETA founder and president Ingrid Newkirk told The Daily Caller.