Baldwin deletes tweets after defending wife

Alec Baldwin went on a homophobic, profanity-laden online rant before shutting down his Alec Baldwin Foundation Twitter account, all in defense of his pregnant wife, Hilaria, whom a Daily Mail reporter had apparently errantly accused of tweeting while the couple attended James Gandolfini's funeral.

The Mail story's headline screams, "Alec Baldwin's pregnant wife Hilaria TWEETS about Rachael Ray and anniversary gifts during James Gandolfini's funeral."

Baldwin replied with screaming of his own — words of denial and retaliation that lit up Twitter on Thursday night and into Friday. In the rant, which has since disappeared along with the Twitter account, Baldwin called Daily Mail writer George Stark a "toxic little queen" and suggested Stark would enjoy a foot up the rear.

The actor also threatened to find the writer and mess him up, only in more profane terms. "Someone wrote that my wife was tweeting at a funeral," he wrote. "Hey. That's not true. But I'm gonna tweet at your funeral."

The "30 Rock" actor's rep explained in a statement to Los Angeles TV station KTLA and other outlets, "It's disgraceful that a reporter would manufacture and publish a story and not call for comment or explanation — especially when it's intended to take away attention from honoring the memory of a beloved figure like James Gandolfini."

Hilaria had denied the story as well, tweeting on Thursday afternoon, "FYI I don't believe in bringing phones into a funeral and I never did and I never would."

The couple had left "discreetly out a side door" about 45 minutes into the service, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Meredith Blake, who was there and noted it was extremely hot in the non-air-conditioned church. The couple's child is reportedly due in mid-August.

Some on Twitter noticed that Stark appeared to have done his time-stamp math wrong, getting the times of the tweets on Hilaria Baldwin's account wrong by failing to adjust for East and West Coast time zones.

Welcome to the academy: Jennifer Lopez, Lena Dunham, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lucy Liu have received one of the most exclusive invitations in Hollywood. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that it has invited them, and 272 others, to join its ranks. Other invitees include Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig and "Before Midnight" writer-star Julie Delpy. All 16 branches of the film academy extended invitations to new members, from hairstylists and sound engineers to producers and publicists. Those who accept the invitations will be able to vote on the next Academy Awards, set for March 2, 2014.

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