Hilaria Baldwin accused critics of “misrepresenting her” amid claims that she spent years pretending to be Spanish.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Baldwin spoke about the controversy surrounding her heritage after news broke that she was born in Boston, not Spain, and was originally called Hillary.
Baldwin, the wife of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin, became the subject of fervent speculation about his past last week. The controversy started when the topic of a Twitter user, who shared clips of Baldwin speaking with an accent, went viral. “You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin’s commitment to her decade-long grift, where she pretends to be a Spaniard,” wrote @lenibriscoe. In a clip, Baldwin is shown struggling to remember the English word for cucumber.
The New York Times article raises examples of news articles regarding Baldwin’s Spanish heritage and highlights an old clip by Alec Baldwin telling David Letterman his wife is from Spain. It also describes a biography of Baldwin on the website of a management agency that says she was born in Majorca, Spain.
Baldwin, 36, says the cucumber incident was caused by nerves, as it was one of her first live TV appearances, describing it as a “brain fart” rather than an attempt to reinforce the belief that she was Spanish . And addressing an online biography of his management agency, which said she was born in Mallorca, Baldwin said it was a “disappointing” mistake.
Baldwin, a yoga instructor and social media influencer, told the New York Times “there is nothing I am doing wrong” and there is a “difference between hiding and creating a limit”.
Baldwin told the New York Times that she is bilingual and her English usually has a strong Spanish accent, depending on how happy or upset she is.
Baldwin, who has five children with Alec, 30 the rock star, said: “Today we have an opportunity to clarify people who were confused – and were confused in some ways by people who misrepresented me.”
Baldwin said she was born Hilary, but changed her name to Hilaria because that’s what her family in Spain called her. She said her parents, who are American, love Spain and took it on vacation since childhood.
“The things I shared about me are very clear,” she said. “I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and Spain. My family now lives in Spain. “
Baldwin did not say how many times or for how long she stayed in the country, adding: “I think it would be maddening to make such a tight schedule of everything. You know, sometimes school was involved. Sometimes it was a vacation. It was a mix, a mess, is that the right word? Like a mix of different things. “
Baldwin married Alec, 62, in 2012. He defended her in the midst of the controversy, sharing a quote on Instagram that said, “A lie can travel half the world while the truth is being laid out.”
Comedian Amy Schumer seemed to laugh at Baldwin’s explanation when she shared a video of herself with a big sun hat and wrote: “I get it. I went to Spain a few times and I also loved it. “
It also included a cucumber emoji.
With PA Media