Alec Baldwin Threatens To Quit Showbiz, Says MSNBC’s ‘Up Late’ Might Not Return After Suspension

A day after his MSNBC show Up Late With Alec Baldwin was put on a two week suspension, Alec Baldwin revealed on his blog that the long-term fate of the show is up in the air. “Whether the show comes back at all is at issue right now,” he wrote Saturday morning. “My producers and I had a very enlightening and well-researched program prepared to air on November 22nd itself, dealing with John Kennedy’s assassination. That show is off the air now.” Baldwin released an apology Friday for the alleged anti-gay remarks to a photographer that led to the MSNBC suspension, but in his lengthier blog post denied uttering any slur during the taped incident. “I can assure you, with complete confidence, that a direct homophobic slur (or indirect one for that matter) is not spoken,” he wrote.

Related: MSNBC Suspends ‘Up Late With Alec Baldwin’ Temporarily

Up Late premiered last month to up-and-down ratings in the Friday 10 PM slot and was still finding its footing when the hammer dropped yesterday. Baldwin’s blog post suggests it may not return at all even after the current two-week suspension. “[If] the show dies, its fate ends up being no different than the vast majority of start-up TV programming, and so be it. We do take a small amount of pride in knowing that we beat CNN in the ratings each of our nights. (I forget who they had on at that time),” he wrote. (more…)