Alec Baldwin's Twitter following might have exploded beyond 600,000 followers in the wake of Words with Friends-gate Tuesday night, but that didn't stop him from shutting down the account, @alecbaldwin, at least for now. The outspoken actor hinted that this would happen, tweeting "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."

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Alec Baldwin shades his eyes from the flashbulbs at JFK Airport in New York Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, after citing privacy issues and not commenting on the specifics of the Baldwin incident, American Airlines has now released their own version of events via their Facebook page. 

"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."

As for what Baldwin might think about that: his publicist Matthew Hiltzik tweeted, "hey @American_AA: How come ok 4 other 1st class passengers 2 tweet while @alecbaldwin asked to leave while using his device? #hypocrisy."

Related content:

• Alec Baldwin joins list of celebrities to clash with airlines
• Alec Baldwin kicked off plane at LAX

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Alec Baldwin arrives at JFK airport in New York on Tuesday.

Alec Baldwin was on board an American Airlines flight at LAX on Tuesday when apparently his behavior caused a delay in the departure of the flight.

What awful thing did the "30 Rock" star do to cause trouble on the tarmac? He didn't turn off his electronic device  iPad when told. Baldwin tweeted, "Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt," shortly after news of the plane's return broke on the social network.

The 140-character-or-less population found out about the incident, generally, via Activate founder Michael J. Wolf's earlier tweet: "On an AA flight at LAX. Alec Baldwin removed from the plane We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait."

Traveler Grant Cardone also tweeted: "Alec Baldwin is getting kicked off of AA flight as I tweet this!" Scoop reached Cardone by phone; he was speaking from the Admiral's Club at LAX and says that he found out about the Baldwin incident through an American Airlines representative who was part of the team handling the situation. Cardone claims that the representative told him that Baldwin was kicked off for "abusive conduct" (that must have been some game of Words with Friends.)

In a statement to NBC News, Baldwin's rep Matthew Hiltzik explained what went down: "Alec was asked to leave the flight for playing 'Words with Friends' on his iPad, while parked at the gate. Alec is so in love with 'Words with Friends' that he would risk getting thrown off a flight to play. He's already been re-booked on another American Airlines flight."

Ed Martelle commented on behalf of the airline, saying, "Owing to privacy concerns regarding our customers, we don't comment on something that might or might not have happened."

Related content:

• Baldwin nails Tracy Morgan impression
• Video: Watch your mobile manners while traveling
• Fliers must turn off devices, but it's not clear why 

There is a new, potentially amazing/horrifying Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor on the horizon: A "Schweddy Balls"-themed flavor pegged to the classic "Saturday Night Live" skit starring Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon and Alec Baldwin (who played Pete "Schweddy Balls" Schweddy in the below sketch).

The rumor comes via Gothamist, who caught Gasteyer dropping the gem about the "Schweddy Balls" sketch during an interview with New York 1: "It has this crazy, massive popularity that’s kind of had a half life since I left the show. Ben & Jerry's is coming out with a Schweddy Balls ice cream for Christmas this year."

Whoa! Bowery Boogie says the flavor will arrive sometime in September and run through Christmas, but a Ben & Jerry's rep who spoke to Gothamist would neither confirm nor deny the move, explaining "we like all of our new flavors to have an element of surprise."

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

Chevy Chase

If Alec Baldwin really, really wants to run for New York mayor when Michael Bloomberg's term is up, he's got at least one celebrity backer: Chevy Chase.

While the politically minded "Community" actor says there's "no chance" that he'd ever run for office, he does tell Scoop that he'd support Baldwin in a bid for mayor.

"Alec is really, really intelligent and knows politics. I’d vote for Alec in a second," he said. However, Chase doesn't see Baldwin leaving acting for office, even after his "30 Rock" contract expires next year.

"I don’t think (running) is going to happen, I don’t see him wanting that necessarily, unless he thinks that can be a road to the presidency or something, but I don’t see that happening at this time in his life. He’s doing pretty well already, but I tell you this. This guy’s really intelligent and articulate and knows what he’s talking about."

Related content:

• Alec Baldwin could make run for NY mayor
• Baldwin's take on Weiner scandal

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Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) at a news conference after admiting to sending a lewd Twitter photo of himself to a woman.

Alec Baldwin, the man considering a New York City mayoral run, has weighed in on the Anthony Weiner scandal. And while Baldwin does not come out and say he feels bad for the congressman in his essay for The Huffington Post, the actor does outline some level of understanding about where Weiner might have been coming from when he made his well-reported lapses in social-networking judgment.

"My thought on Weiner is that he is a very busy man," Baldwin writes. "Like most, although not all, politicians, he probably spends a great deal of time going to meetings, raising campaign funds and seizing upon every opportunity to remind people of how great he is as a public servant and a human being. It's exhausting ... Like other politicians, he needs something to take the edge off."

Peter Kramer / AP file

Actor Alec Baldwin writes in The Huffington Post that Weiner is just a "modern human being."

Baldwin goes on to say that Weiner turned to the Internet, but made a terrible error along the way. "Weiner is so busy, he forgot the important rule that everyone you interact with on this plane becomes a co-conspirator. You rely on them to remain confidential," Baldwin wrote.

Ultimately, "Weiner is a modern human being," Baldwin said. "So he ensnared himself in things that modern humans do. When I first heard about his problems, I snickered and made jokes, too. Now, I'm sad for him, his family, his district and his colleagues.

"Let he who is without sin....."

You can read Baldwin's piece in its entirety here.

Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images file

Could Alec Baldwin be New York's leading man?

Mayor Alec Baldwin? It's a possibility, the actor's rep says. The inkling to run for office comes in the wake of the Anthony Weiner Twitter photo scandal. Prior to the scandal, Weiner was considered a likely candidate for the post.

"Alec said, 'Hey, maybe this changes the race. The dynamics have shifted,'" a Baldwin friend told iPad newspaper The Daily. "The Democrats need a high-profile candidate, and Alec can fill that bill."

Baldwin's longtime rep Matthew Hiltzik then told The Hollywood Reporter, "I wouldn't rule it out."

It's possible Baldwin will have time for politics: he's said in the past that next year's season of "30 Rock" will be his last, and that he might leave acting entirely.

adammshankman via TwitBird

Russell Brand, left, and Alec Baldwin.

The buttoned-up Alec Baldwin we've gotten to know on "30 Rock" is long gone, at least on the set of the big screen adaptation of "Rock of Ages."

Baldwin goes blond and decidedly hippie in this photo, snapped from the set. Russell Brand, also pictured, is one of the many recognizable faces cast in the film, which also features Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Paul Giamatti. The film is set to come out next summer.

Yankees or Red Sox? It's a rivalry that will get even the most casual fan riled up. Make no exception when it comes to Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski, who go at it in the context of this New Era commercial. Check it out.

And go to New Era's site and vote for your favorite in the rivalry. That should settle things once and for all, right?

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Actor Alec Baldwin arrives on the red carpet for the 68th annual Golden Globe awards on Sunday, Jan. 16.

Don't buy into recent reports that claim "30 Rock" star Alec Baldwin is set to replace Keith Olbermann at msnbc. "Entertaining, but not true," said an NBC rep, adding that the "replacement" for Olbermann is already in place -- that's Lawrence O'Donnell.

Baldwin will be looking for work in the not-too-distant future, however. During a recent conversation with Scoop, he did say that when his "30 Rock" contract is up next year, he's "done" with the show.

"I did it for six years, I want to do something else," he said.

As for whether this will be Baldwin's exit from acting entirely, don't rule it out. "I don't know, maybe it is," he said. "Do you want to do the same thing your whole life?"