Ireland Baldwin has referenced the time her father Alec Baldwin referred to her as a “thoughtless little pig” while speaking candidly about the negative ways she has been portrayed in the media.
The 26-year-old model referred to the 2007 incident, which took place when she was 11 and her father was divorcing her mother Kim Basinger, while participating in a TikTok trend on Wednesday, in which people use The Ting Tings‘ song That’s Not My Name to share all of the names apart from their own that they have been called.
In Ireland’s version of the viral trend, she wrote: “My name is Ireland… but the media likes to call me…” before sharing some of the hurtful ways that she has been described by the press.
In addition to “thoughtless, little pig,” Ireland also noted that she has been described as “fat,” “attention-seeking, voluptuous, promiscuous,” and as a “well-off, silver spoon fed brat with no real job”.
The actor and writer concluded the video reiterating that her name is Ireland and that she is a writer. “And I think pigs are cute so joke’s on you,” she added.
In the accompanying caption, Ireland took the opportunity to reflect on how upsetting she found the descriptions, with the A Dark Foe star writing: “I can’t even tell you how much time I’ve wasted worrying about headlines and comments. Can you believe that? Can you believe how much control we give others and how much power we give their narratives.
“Maybe you don’t experience this on the scale that I do, but the majority of us have been called names and have had assumptions made about us.”
Ireland, who said she doesn’t often read articles written about her, then claimed that when she does read stories published about herself, she is either “always sexualised in some way or compared to my parents in another”.
“Unfortunately, positivity and good news hardly sells,” she continued.
Despite the negative experiences, Ireland said she has gotten to a place where she knows “who I am for the first time in a long time,” before noting that she is “excited” to show her fans and followers what she has been working on.
The actor then acknowledged that, while her “decision to work in the entertainment industry will, of course, bring on the constant comparison to the achievements of both my parents,” and she will continue to embrace the parts of herself that are like her famous parents, she is looking forward to showing the person that she has grown to become.
“I don’t give a f**k what you think about how I look, what I wear, what I think and say, and damn does it feel good to get to this point,” she concluded.
On Instagram, where Ireland posted the video, the comments were flooded with supportive messages from her fans. “Best use of this trend,” one person commented, while another said: “Very well said.”
Someone else added: “F**K YES! Good for you! Hahaha this is incredible.”
While Ireland did not associate the “thoughtless little pig” comment to her father in the video, this is not the first time that she has publicly addressed the incident, as she previously joked about the leaked voicemail during Spike’s One Night Only roast of Alec in 2017.
After introducing herself as Ireland and a “Baldwin,” the model said: “Yes, I’m a member of that family. The Baldwins. I see other recovering Baldwins here. Some cousins, uncles…I’m here to roast this big old ham I call my father. Speaking of pigs, some of you may remember me as that ‘thoughtless little pig’ you read about,” according to E! News.
“That was a decade ago, and my dad and I are in a much better place now. He would never say something like that,” she continued, before adding that her dad knows better because she would “kick his ass”.
The It’s Complicated star also previously addressed the voicemail during an interview on Good Morning America in 2017, where he claimed that the comment still gets “thrown” in his face.
“There are people who admonish me or attack me and use that as a constant spearhead to do that. It’s a scab that never heals ‘cause it’s being picked at all the time by other people,” he said. At the time, the actor also noted that the voicemail hurt his daughter “in a permanent way”.
