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Alec Baldwin Clashes With NY Post Staffers, Claims Photog Assaulted Him

10:03 am, February 18th, 2013

(GettyImages.com)

Alec Baldwin was involved in a heated confrontation with a New York Post reporter and photographer in New York on Sunday.

The “30 Rock” star was reportedly walking his dogs in the East Village when he was approached by reporter Tara Palmeri, who asked the actor about a lawsuit filed against his wife Hilaria.

Palmeri claims Baldwin responded by grabbing her arm and saying, “I want you to choke to death.”

In an earlier version of its story, the New York Post claimed Baldwin told her, “I want to choke you to death,” but sources close to the actor tell Gossip Cop that is NOT accurate.

The paper says Baldwin then allegedly hurled racial slurs at the photographer, G.N. Miller, whom the publication says is black and a retired detective from the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau.

According to he New York Post, Baldwin called the man” a coon,” “crackhead” and “drug dealer.”

After the incident, Palmeri and Miller filed harassment charges against the movie star.

Palmeri reportedly played for the police a recording of Baldwin’s alleged threat.

There is NO tape of Baldwin’s alleged racial slurs.

Baldwin has also filed a formal complaint — against Miller.

The actor tweeted after the incident, “Thank u 2 NYPD officers who came to my home 2day so that I could file a formal complaint against NY Post ‘photographer’ who assaulted me.”

Baldwin added in a series of later tweets, “My publicist has just informed me that the ‘photographer’ from the Post is claiming I called him a racial epithet, prior to calling the cops. That’s kind of magical thinking, isn’t it? The Post accusing me of racism?”

A rep for Baldwin says it’s “completely false” that the actor used a racial slur.

On Monday, the star tweeted a link to a Gothamist story, in which he tells the site a very different series of events than that in the Post.

Baldwin tells the blog that Miller intentionally bumped into him in order to “bait” him.

He adds that he NEVER called Miller a racial slur, saying, “If you want to put words in my mouth…I’ve certainly had my moments. But this is not one of them. I don’t think I’ve ever uttered a racial epithet to someone in my lifetime.”

Baldwin goes on to blast the Post, saying, “The Post will stop at nothing — that’s what The Post is. Their function is to denigrate people, humiliate people, reduce people, make excuses for people who are their political partisans. It’s a highly biased, highly politisized group of people. However, I’m stunned that they would resort to that.”

The actor does not address the claims that he threatened Palmeri in the Gothamist article.

Last summer, Baldwin was involved in two separate run-ins with photographers in New York.

Gossip Cop will have updates as this story continues to develop.

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