Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for January 2
Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.
In the wake of the controversy surrounding Hilaria Baldwin’s Spanish heritage, a blog post written by her father about the culture’s impact on his life has resurfaced.
Baldwin, a 36-year-old yoga/wellness expert married to actor Alec Baldwin, reacted to a tweet last week that said, "You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin’s commitment to her decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person." The tweet has since been deleted.
Many criticized the influencer for misrepresenting her Spanish heritage and implying on several occasions that she was born in Spain but moved to the U.S. later in life. She has denied ever making such claims in a recent interview with The New York Times despite evidence to the contrary.
As the public looks back on Baldwin’s public statements about her heritage, a blog post written in 2015 by her father, David L. Thomas, has resurfaced. In it, he discusses the impact Spanish culture had on his life.
ALEC BALDWIN DEFENDS WIFE HILARIA'S HERITAGE AFTER CULTURAL APPROPRIATION ACCUSATIONS
Hilaria Baldwin's father penned a blog post in 2015 about his love of Spanish culture. (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
The post was published on InternationalIntegrators.org, a company Page Six reports he co-founded with his wife. In it, he describes being from a Midwestern family that relocated to the East Coast of the United States when he was very young. Because his mother was a dietitian, food was a big point of interest in their household, especially when Spanish culture became a fascination of his.
"My path in life has been heavily influenced by Spanish language and culture, and not because I have an iota of latin blood in my veins," Thomas writes.
He explains that his father traveled to Argentina on business when he was young but promised to take him to the country if he ever learned the language. After several years and a lot of classes, Thomas says he traveled to Argentina with his family and then to Chile and Peru.
"I was hooked on Spanish," he explained.
From there he traveled around Europe and always made sure to find his way back to Spain, mostly because he was enamored with how the country socializes around meals. When Thomas grew up and had children, he taught them to love Spanish culture as well. Eventually, he and his wife, Dr. Kathryn Hayward, relocated to Spain, where they live today.
HILARIA BALDWIN'S HERITAGE DEFENSE SPARKS HILARIOUS TWITTER REACTIONS
Although Thomas was open about the fact that his love for Spanish culture is one of an outsider looking in, Baldwin believes that part of the public’s confusion surrounding her identity comes from the fact that her family lives in Spain. As a result, she thought nothing of calling the country "home."
Hilaria Baldwin's father penned a blog post in 2015 about his love of Spanish culture that's resurfaced in the wake of her controversy. (Cindy rd/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)
Baldwin has claimed she was born in Mallorca, Spain, and raised in Boston. She explained on a podcast in April 2020, "I moved here [to America] when I was 19 to go to NYU from… my family lives in Spain, they live in Mallorca." The bilingual mother of five's accent has also noticeably fluctuated over the years when she made appearances on TV. In one damning clip from the "Today" show, she appears to forget the English word for "cucumber."
Meanwhile, her CAA speaker page, Wikipedia and IMDB page all previously listed her birth country as Spain. CAA has since removed any mention of her birthplace, while the latter two have made corrections.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"The things I have shared about myself are very clear," Baldwin told the New York Times in her defense. "I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and in Spain. My family now lives in Spain. I moved to New York when I was 19 years old and I have lived here ever since. For me, I feel like I have spent 10 years sharing that story over and over again. And now it seems like it’s not enough."
Trending
