Alec Baldwin denies punching man in parking dispute

  • 04/11/2018
Alec Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin. Photo credit: Getty

Alec Baldwin is denying that he punched anyone over a parking spot and says an assault allegation is being reported "for the purposes of clickbait entertainment".

The actor was arrested Friday (US time) and charged with assault and harassment after allegedly hitting another man in the face during a dispute over a parking spot in New York City. CBS News initially reported it was a "punch". 

Baldwin's publicist declined to comment after the arrest. But the actor later tweeted from the account of the Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation that "the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false. I wanted to go on the record stating as much."

Baldwin complained that it's become "a sport" to tag people with as many "negative charges and defaming allegations as possible for the purposes of clickbait entertainment".

Baldwin, 60, told police a family member was holding the spot in front of his Manhattan home when a man driving a Saab station wagon pulled up and took it.

The driver of the station wagon told police Baldwin hit him with his hand, but he wasn't sure if it was a punch or a slap.

Police said the 49-year-old driver complained of jaw pain and redness in the neck area and was taken to a hospital.

Baldwin was released from the local police precinct in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighbourhood after about two hours. He was ordered to appear in court November 26.

Baldwin, the star of former television sitcom 30 Rock and current host of Match Game, plays President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live and recently started a talk show on ABC.

Baldwin was last arrested in 2014 for disorderly conduct when he was caught riding a bike the wrong way down a one-way street. He has also had a number of confrontations with paparazzi photographers.

APTN / Newshub.