Alec Baldwin busts American on 'SNL'; '30 Rock' grounded? [Video]

Hey, Alec Baldwin: How many Words With Friends points would you earn with "snowball"? Because snowballing is what's happening with the actor's American Airlines controversy after an "SNL" bit he executed on Saturday

The "Weekend Update" video starring Baldwin is below, for those who missed the spoof on "Saturday Night Live."

Baldwin made waves last Tuesday by refusing to power down his electronic device on an American Airlines flight, opting instead to continue playing the aforementioned word game. He then allegedly slammed a lavatory door in response to a complaining flight attendant, a move that prompted the pilot to remove him from the plane.

The "30 Rock" star tweeted his displeasure last week -- while the FAA speculated about a possible fine -- then put his own Twitter account on hiatus and finally appeared on "Saturday Night Live" as the fictional Capt. Steve Rogers, who issued an apology to the actor ... er, himself.

"It was very important for me to come here tonight and on behalf of everyone at American Airlines issue an apology to Mr. Alec Baldwin," the actor said, dressed in full uniform and a moustache.

"Mr. Baldwin is an American treasure," Baldwin said, "and I am ashamed at the way he was treated."

American Airlines wasn't too pleased.

"I was disappointed that it was making light of something that’s fairly serious and also was poking fun at a group of employees that are very proud and a historic airline who are going through a tough period right now," Steve Roach, an actual American Airlines pilot, told the MSNBC travel blog Overhead Bin.

What might be worse than offending the fleet would be offending employer NBC's wallet, as American reportedly is considering pulling "30 Rock" from its in-flight entertainment offerings. The American Airlines Flight Attendants Union has petitioned not only to keep Baldwin off their aircraft for good, but also not to air his popular comedy series costarring Tina Fey, said E! Online. 

That's a lot of hubbub (which couldn't be had on Words With Friends, mind you, because there are only two B's in the game). And while the Ministry loves a good spoof, we can't help but get a whiff here of Madonna and her hydrangeas. A beef is a beef, but continued beefing smacks of tone deafness.

Perhaps Whoopi Goldberg said it best: Turn off your darn phone. 

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Photo: Alec Baldwin arrives at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 3rd Annual Governors Awards in Hollywood on Nov. 12. Credit: Frederic J. Brown / Agence France-Press / Getty Images

Alec Baldwin Twitter account deleted after American Airlines spat

Alec Baldwin's Twitter account, which he used to inform the world of his fight with American Airlines on Tuesday, has been deleted.

The "30 Rock" star sent a tweet late Tuesday that said, "Let's play a game called Mass Unfollowing. I want to crash this acct and start again. But, tonight at 10 PM NY time, unfollow me."

His account was then closed out with a link to three YouTube videos of an orchestra performing Mahler's 9th Symphony.

No word on how many people actually unfollowed the star, but as of Wednesday morning, his account was listed as "Deactivated."

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, Baldwin had written that he had been "reamed" by a flight attendant for playing the game Words With Friends on his cellphone just before takeoff at LAX. He was removed from the flight and took a later one.

On Wednesday morning, American Airlines responded on its Facebook page with a statement laying out the facts of Baldwin's incident from its perspective. The statement reads:

"Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce. Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off. This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation. The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding."

Not wanting to be left out of the social media free-for-all, Baldwin's publicist tweeted on Wednesday morning, "hey @American_AA: How come ok 4 other 1st class passengers 2 tweet while @alecbaldwin asked to leave while using his device? #hypocrisy."

For more on Baldwingate, and to learn how Oscar De La Hoya fits into all of this, head over to LA Now.

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Alec Baldwin: No friendly words for airline after incident

Alec Baldwin must take his high scores very seriously, as the actor hopped off an airplane following a scuffle with a flight attendant over the phone application Words With Friends.

Baldwin boarded a flight leaving Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon and, while the American Airlines aircraft sat idle at the gate, the "30 Rock" star thought he'd indulge in the app — a virtual Scrabble of sorts.

"Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not movin," he tweeted.

An L.A. Now report said another passenger on the plane tweeted that Baldwin was removed from the plane. A TMZ report takes it a step further, saying the captain made the call to have him removed after he slammed a lavatory door. One thing is for sure: He switched to a United flight, and won't stop tweeting them love.

While the general spectacle is hilarious, there could be consequences. A Federal Aviation Administration representative said that the agency could fine Baldwin if it determines he disobeyed a crew member's orders. Baldwin would have the option to appeal the fine.

This isn't the first incident of Baldwin taking his customer service complaints to the social media site. In early September, Baldwin wasn't having any of his coffee-maker's nonsense and fired off  "Starbucks on 93 and B'way. Uptight Queen barrista named JAY has an attitude problem."

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Photo: Alec Baldwin arrives at the celebration for the 30th anniversary of the People For The American Way Foundation in Beverly Hills on Dec. 5. Credit: Gus Ruelas / Reuters