Alec Baldwin slammed for 'self-centred' Sam Neill tribute
Alec Baldwin has come under fire for the tribute he shared following the death of actor Sam Neill.
Neill's family announced his 'sudden' death, aged 78, on Monday (13 Jul) in a heartbreaking statement shared with the press.
"It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia," they said. "Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life."
The family also discussed the blood cancer diagnosis he received in 2023, which he was later cleared of following chemotherapy and CAR T-cell treatment, the latter of which he received as part of a clinical trial in Australia.
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"The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free," the Jurassic Park star's loved one continued.
"They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.
"More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss."
In light of the unexpected announcement, hundreds of tributes poured in from fellow big-name stars, many of whom had been lucky enough to work with Neill on a professional project.
Amongst them was actor and producer Baldwin, 68, who has since been accused of making his condolence message 'all about himself'.
In a three-minute video shared to Instagram, the Beetlejuice star began by claiming he was 'stricken' to learn of his death.
Immediately afterwards, however, Baldwin suddenly began recalling his experience working alongside Neill on The Hunt For Red October, by supplying an anecdote about almost every other cast member.
"When I did The Hunt for Red October, we shot in 89, it came out in 1990, a long time ago," he reminisced. "And that was probably my first big movie in terms of having a, a decent-sized role, because I'd done Working Girl and Beetlejuice and things like that, where I had a smaller role."
Baldwin continued: "And I do Hunt for Red October and, yes, John [McTiernan] is a great director and, um, one of the most exciting parts of it was, for me, to meet Tom Clancy."
He then went on to tell tales about Tim Curry, Sean Connery, Courtney B. Vance, Stellan Skarsgård and James Earl Jones, taking several minutes before bringing the focus back to Neill.
"There's a lot of other people in there who I enjoyed working with, but my God, my God," Baldwin continued. "What an experience that was. What an experience it was to do that movie with those people. I mean, every time you turned around to do a scene, you were with this great actor."
He lastly gushed: "That is one of the few movies I have ever done where I remember the whole movie. That's what a fan I am of that work. Not me. I'm not a fan of my work, but I am a fan of their work.
"Anyway, oh my God. My God. Sam Neill. My love to his family, my love to his family."
Baldwin was subsequently slammed by fans who accused him of using Neill's death as a means of not-so-subtle self-promotion.
"I forgot he was talking about @SamNeill. I think he mentioned him in the first 9 seconds and then didn’t talk about him again (except for last 2 secs )," one X user noted. "This just became an Alec Baldwin/Hunt For Red October brag."
"This weird style of rambling and bragging reminds me of how Trump speaks. Very strange and off-putting," another said.
A third added: "This is a man who is thinking about his own eventual death because of the death of a colleague, instead of eulogising the colleague at all."
"The narcissism is insane," another fourth.
Tyla contacted Baldwin's representatives for comment.
Topics: Alec Baldwin, Celebrity, US News, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson