Alec Baldwin Removed From Flight for Refusing to Turn Off Phone
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"30 Rock" star Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles because he refused to turn off his cell phone, the actor said.
On his Twitter account, Baldwin wrote, "Flight attendant on American [Airlines] reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving."
Baldwin was aboard American Airlines Flight 4, which was delayed an hour, when he was booted for not listening to the flight attendant. The flight had been bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport, the New York Post reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Now on the 3 o'clock American flight. The flight attendants already look.....smarter," Baldwin later tweeted.
"Last flight w/American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants," he added.
The official Twitter account for American Airlines responded, "Mr. Baldwin, we are looking into this."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Federal Aviation Administration official told the Los Angeles Times that if American Airlines chooses to file a complaint, there could be an investigation and Baldwin could be fined.
Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, said in a statement to FOX News Channel, "Alec was asked to leave the flight for playing 'Words with Friends' while parked at the gate. He loves WWF so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it, but he has already boarded another AA flight."
Fellow passengers stuck on the plane at Los Angeles International Airport quickly tweeted about the incident moments after it took place.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael J. Wolf, founder of the website Activate.com, tweeted about 4:20pm ET that Baldwin had been tossed from the flight.
"On an AA flight at LAX. Alec Baldwin removed from the plane. We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait," he tweeted.
Baldwin, 53, was in Los Angeles -- away from his native New York City -- to be honored at a Beverly Hills event for the People For the American Way Foundation on Monday night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Emmy Award-winning actor is a long-time board member of the liberal advocacy group.