In the debut episode of their new podcast, Hilaria and Alec Baldwin sidestepped her cultural appropriation scandal, in which the U.S.-born influencer was revealed to have engaged in bizarre but well-documented efforts to fake being a Spanish immigrant for more than a decade.
Instead, the controversial couple used the premiere of the podcast, “What’s One More,” to present themselves as a force for “inspiring positive dialogues” about mental health and the “challenges we all face.” Their goal, they said, is to build “community and make “this a better world for our children.”
Amid those buzzwords, Hilaria Baldwin’s only vague reference to the scandal was at the start of the show. The mother of six, with no Spanish accent, said: “This has been a remarkably difficult and life-changing year for all of us between the pandemic, politics, the economy and raising children in these stressful times.
Hilaria Baldwin, 37, then said: “We all make mistakes along the way. We’re all imperfect. But we’re also constantly evolving and wanting to get it right. Each of us is a continual work in progress and it is by coming together to share our stories, struggles and wisdom that we can individually and collectively grow and learn.”
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin are launching a podcast, “What’s One More?” https://t.co/24PgU0QjJv pic.twitter.com/X4q19FUJt5
— katie rosman (@katierosman) June 15, 2021
Several hours after the first episode debuted, Hilaria Baldwin got a thumbs up from some celebrity friends, including actors Debi Mazar and Tori Spelling. The latter — no stranger to controversy herself — wrote “Can’t wait!”
Hilaria Baldwin’s scandal broke at the end of 2020, after people on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit uncovered multiple incidents where the 37-year-old former yoga teacher and self-described wellness expert tried to pass herself off as a Spanish immigrant. Video clips showed Baldwin, born Hillary Hayward-Thomas in Boston, using a shifting accent and allowing herself to be variously identified as “Latina,” “from Spain,” “half-Spanish” and a “native Spanish speaker” in numerous public appearances and interviews, including at the United Nations and in Spanish-language publications.
The scandal prompted Atlantic magazine to list Hilaria Baldwin as one of the better known “identity hoaxers” in recent years, along with Rachel Dolezal and Jessica Krug.
Alec Baldwin, 63, also was found to have pushed his wife’s Spanish identity by appearing with her in Spanish-language media and by humorously mimicking her in interviews, including with David Letterman, using a stereotypical Spanish accent and saying she was “from Spain.”
From Hilaria Baldwin’s statements in the debut episode, it appears that she believes — or hopes — that a statement she made on Instagram in February adequately addressed the concerns among some Latinx people that she engaged in cultural appropriation.
While born and raised in Boston, Hilaria Baldwin explained that she spent a lot of time in Spain when she was growing up, learning Spanish and developing a sense of belonging to both American and Spanish cultures. She said her parents now live in Spain, and she’s raising six children, ages 7 to 3 months, to be bilingual.
Her critics said she has failed to take responsibility for deliberately misleading people about her identity. They said she employed a classic non-apology apology. While she said she was was “sorry,” critics noted she didn’t say she was sorry for allegedly lying to her fans. Hilaria Baldwin only apologized for not being “more clear” about how she described her affinity to Spanish cultures.
In addition to this scandal, the couple also have developed an increasingly divisive public profile because of the sudden, unexplained arrival of a sixth baby in their household in early March, after Hilaria Baldwin gave birth to their fifth child just months earlier in September; Alec Baldwin’s ongoing public outbursts over “cancel culture” and his defense of Woody Allen; and Hilaria Baldwin’s habit of constantly posting photos of their young children in what appears to be an effort to rebuild her mom influencer brand.
The debut episode of “What’s One More” featured a conversation with “Will and Grace” actor Leslie Jordan, who the Baldwins praised for becoming a social media star for his uplifting posts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jordan talked about overcoming his struggles with alcohol addiction, which made him “a mess” and led to multiple jail stints for driving under the influence. He also talked about how he was otherwise a “blessed” person with a capacity for happiness.
Later in the conversation, Hilaria Baldwin said: “Leslie inspires me so much because he went down a dark and difficult road. … He’s living his best and most authentic life, and he now stands as a reminder to all of us that it’s not always an easy journey but there is power in being true to who you are and embracing your individuality.”
“What’s One More” marks the first time Hilaria and Alec Baldwin have worked together, as well as her first major professional gig since the scandal broke. Her other podcast, “Mom Brain,” a parenting venture she co-hosted with Daphne Oz, shut down amid the scandal.
The podcast was apparently scheduled to premiere last week, but the announcement was met with massive amounts of online outrage and ridicule, even leading to the podcast’s Instagram page being taken down.
In a brief promo for the podcast, Hilaria Baldwin — no accent detectable — said, “We wanted to do this podcast where we have honest conversations about gratitude, inspiration, love and positivity.” The couple say their conversations will be with “friends, specialists, authors and doctors.”
After the announcement, the overriding question among people posting to the podcast’s Instagram page, and to iTunes and other social media: “Who on earth thought this was a good idea?”
It appears that the Baldwins, or their producers, spent the week retooling some of the promotional language that described the podcast, specifically getting away from pushing the idea of a parenting focus.
On Tuesday, people commenting on Alec Baldwin’s Instagram announcement about the podcast jokingly asked if the podcast would be in English or in Spanish, or “which accent” his wife would use. Someone else wrote: “I’m sorry but mental health is not Hilaria’s area of expertise. I give it 3-4 episodes then it will be in the trash bin right next to ‘mom brain.'”
Yet another said: “Your wife needs to take a break from media. She and the children are overexposed. … You saw the backlash. Why do you continue?”
A number of other comments on both Alec and Hilaria Baldwin’s Instagram accounts were positive, with people saying “Congrats!” and “Super cool.” Someone wrote:
“Why do folks get upset about their choices? They seem like a rad couple with a bunch of cool kids who are in the public eye due to their careers. Let em’ enjoy life.”
The couple’s critics suspect that they have PR people who delete negative comments as soon as they go up. Over on the Apple podcast page for “What’s One More,” the podcast so far only has one out of five stars, with people posting before the first episode even dropped. Listeners called the couple “dishonest” because of their failure to admit any complicity in the scandal and “narcissists” for thinking that people would turn to them for inspiration or advice on relationships or pushing positivity into the world.
