Emmy Editing: Alec Baldwin’s Phone-Hacking Joke Cut from Fox Telecast

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Nobody puts Baldwin in the corner.

The ever-outrageous Alec Baldwin had pre-taped a skit that was meant to be included in the opening of Sunday’s Emmy Awards. And apparently, that skit included a joke about Rupert Murdoch and the notorious phone-hacking scandal. So it wasn’t that surprising that Fox, who was broadcasting the awards show, edited out the gag in the skit. (The Murdoch-owned News Corp is the parent company of Fox.) And it definitely wasn’t that surprising that Baldwin didn’t take kindly to being edited — he tweeted his displeasure and pulled out of all the Emmys altogether once he learned of the change. (Update: Our sister magazine, Entertainment Weekly, reports that Baldwin actually pulled out to host Tony Bennett’s birthday party.)Star Trek‘s Leonard Nimoy took Baldwin’s place in the opening skit instead.

(PHOTOS: A Look At Alec Baldwin’s Career)

For its part, Fox noted that the reason they cut Baldwin’s joke was not because of their association with the scandal, but because they don’t feel it’s appropriate to make light of something they take so seriously. (Really, Fox? That’s what’s commonly referred to as comedy.)

Luckily for us, Fox can’t edit Baldwin’s next gig, hosting Saturday Night Live. The 30 Rock star is lined up to host next Saturday’s SNL — always a good thing — and so shortly after being censored, he’s almost sure to make reference to the situation. NewsFeed is expecting a reference to Murdoch somewhere in the opening monologue and even (fingers crossed!) an entire skit on Fox’s blind spot.

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