Alec Baldwin, a prolific celebrity Twitter user, has shut down his account after stirring up some trouble yesterday when he was booted from an American Airlines flight. He claimed he was just trying to play Words With Friends, when the rude flight attendants told him to stop. He then proceeded to bash the airline on Twitter, and promoted rival United Airlines for a few hours. The whole affair was very retweet-worthy, and good fodder for gossip blogs. Even though the plane was standing still at the gate, was Baldwin in the wrong? Could it be possible that a much-loved famous person with a previous history of rude behavior and a short temper is actually not a very nice guy after all? 

The airline initially tweeted at the star in an attempt at damange control. Apparently, Twitter celebrity outreach didn't help, so a rep posted the following on the company's Facebook page:

Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce. Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off. This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation. The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding.

It's certainly not behavior fitting of a potential mayoral candidate, but at least it pales in comparison to Gérard Depardieu's mishap earlier this year, when he drunkenly relieved himself in front of passengers on a City Jet plane, delaying the flight's departure by two hours. Although I suppose watching a celebrity pee is a bit more exciting than watching one play imitation Scrabble on his iPhone.