Why Alec Baldwin Called Paul McCartney an 'A--hole' to His Face

Actor Alec Baldwin was once reduced to yelling an obscenity at his friend Paul McCartney.

"I used to take a yoga class with [Saturday Night Live creator and producer] Lorne [Michaels]; John Eastman, who's Paul's brother-in-law; John Alexander, the painter – Lorne and I, there were five of us," Baldwin said on the Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson podcast. "We would take a yoga class. We called ourselves the 'Yoga Boys.'"

There was one problem: "The only one who was really adept at yoga was McCartney. He would do a handstand or a headstand and he had the most lithe body you've ever seen – and back then he was in his late 60s – and he was so fit."

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This eventually began to grate on the rest of the Yoga Boys, and Baldwin finally said something. "One time, he does a headstand before he leaves, and he gets up and whispers to me, he goes: 'I'm gonna go take my daughter to lunch. I'll see you guys later.' I looked up at him after he does the headstand, and I go, 'You're an asshole.'"

McCartney has announced the belated release of One Hand Clapping, a long-bootlegged 1974 live recording from Wings. Baldwin remains involved in a court case over the 2021 shooting death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.

He admits that he's still a little shocked that he hurled this insult at McCartney. "I never thought I'd call one of the Beatles an asshole, but he was just always showing us up with his physical skills! He was a very fit guy."