Why Is Alec Baldwin Forgiven But Louis CK Isn't?

Some shooters are more equal than others

On April 8, 2017, a few months before Louis CK’s career went off a cliff, he hosted Saturday Night Live for the fourth and probably final time. He did a pretty good monologue, starting each chunk of jokes with an edgy take but then winning over the crowd.

It was good. It was Louis CK.

(I think I remember The Chainsmokers? I don’t think I remember The Chainsmokers.)

Early 2017 was a really good time to be that guy. His critically acclaimed FX series Louie had brought his comedy to a wider audience. He’d won several Emmys, a few Grammys, and a couple of Peabody Awards, and was a Golden Globe nominee. He was a frequent talk show guest, and he was even a presenter at the 2016 Oscars.

It was only Best Documentary Short Film, but still. The Oscars, man. Louie had made it! After 30 years in comedy, at last he was legitimately famous. Everybody loved him. Well, a lot of people loved him.

Also on that same SNL episode was Alec Baldwin, still doing the bizarre, unfunny Trump impression he had started doing six months before, when it was ridiculous to imagine Trump could actually win. Lorne Michaels kicked the far superior Darrell Hammond to the curb, and the audience was stuck with this famous movie star who just could not nail the impression.

Baldwin kept going with it, though, apparently out of spite. Which is one of the personality traits Baldwin and Trump share.