Hilaria Baldwin responds to accusations she’s faking her Spanish heritage
The wife of actor Alec Baldwin owns her whiteness, reveals her government name is Hilary after rumors about her identity went viral
Hilaria Baldwin, the wife of Alec Baldwin, took to Instagram on Sunday to address allegations that she has been pretending to be Spanish when she’s actually a Boston-born white woman named Hilary.
Fresh-faced with sleep-tousled hair, the former yoga instructor was clad in Nutcracker-print pajamas during the seven-and-a-half-minute video.
Describing her upbringing and heritage as “a difficult story,” Baldwin attempted to explain her background.
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“I’ve seen chatter online questioning my identity and culture. This is something I take very seriously, and for those who are asking — I’ll reiterate my story, as I’ve done many times before,” Baldwin, 36, said.
“I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain. My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here, in the USA. We celebrate both cultures in our home — Alec and I are raising our children bilingual, just as I was raised. This is very important to me. I understand that my story is a little different, but it is mine, and I’m very proud of it.”
Allegations that Baldwin lied about her heritage surfaced on Twitter last week and quickly went viral. Soon after, old videos of Baldwin slipping in and out of a Spanish accent, including footage of her having difficulty saying the word “cucumber” in English, despite her childhood in Massachusetts, Yahoo! Entertainment reported.
In the video, The Living Clearly Method author addressed the controversy over her name, explaining that growing up between cultures and speaking two languages prompted her to consolidate the two identities, but she admitted she didn’t bridge the two identities very well. She also admitted to experiencing many insecurities while growing up, which resulted in her mixing English with Spanish whenever she was nervous or upset.
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“Yes, I am a white girl,” she continued. “Europe has a lot of white people in there. My family is white.”
Baldwin said she was called Hilaria by her parents, but was known as Hilary — the English version of her name — in America.
According to Baldwin, her name means “happy” in both languages, and she says she is happy to have found value in her individuality.
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