It’s not too often you hear someone calling rock legend Paul McCartney an a–hole, but actor Alec Baldwin did just that in a new episode of the Our Way podcast co-hosted by singer Paul Anka and his friend, business mogul Skip Bronson.
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Baldwin revealed in the interview that he got annoyed with the Beatles icon while they used to take a yoga class together several years ago in the ritzy Hamptons region of Long Island, New York.
The actor explained that the class consisted of himself, McCartney, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, painter John Alexander, and McCartney’s former brother-in-law, the late John Eastman.
“We called ourselves the Yoga Boys,” Baldwin shared. “And the only one who was really adept at yoga was McCartney. He would do a handstand or headstand and leave. He had the most lithe body you’ve ever seen, and … back then, he was in his late sixties, and he was so fit.”
The Emmy Award winner then recalled an interaction with McCartney that really ticked him off.
“One time, he does a headstand before he leaves, and he gets up and he whispers to me … ‘I’m gonna go take my daughter to lunch.’ He goes, ‘I’ll see you guys later,’” Baldwin said. “And I looked up at him after he did the headstand, and I go, ‘You’re an a–hole.’ And I never thought I’d call one of The Beatles an a–hole, you know. But he was just always showing us up with his physical skills.”
McCartney’s Previous Comments About His Yoga Class with Baldwin
McCartney was more humble about his yoga skills while being interviewed in a November 2000 episode of the SmartLess podcast co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
The rock legend said, “We have this little thing with Lorne [Michaels], Alec [Baldwin] and a couple of mates, and it’s called the Yoga Boys. We do yoga together and, like, we’re terrible.”
McCartney Said Baldwin Influenced the Way He Interacts with Intrusive Fans
During that podcast, McCartney also explained why he refuses to take selfies with fans anymore, while sharing that he came up with a way of diplomatically turning down their requests by watching Baldwin.
“We were sitting around [after a yoga class], talking, and we’re having a bite to eat outdoors,” McCartney said. “Someone comes up to Alex and says, ‘Could I have your autograph?’ And he looks with that Alec look, he says, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t do pictures,’ and he held it. I just thought, ‘That’s the line.’”
He continued, “I sometimes feel like I have to say, ‘Look, you know, I’m happy to talk to you. Sit down. We can talk,’ ’cause I like that. ’Cause I’m still me.”
McCartney then explained, “The minute I put my arm around you, you put your arm around me, I feel like the monkey in Saint-Tropez. ‘Come and have a picture taken with the monkey,’ you know? And I don’t like that. It puts me off.”
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