Ireland Baldwin is speaking out after her stepmother, Hilaria Baldwin, was accused of fabricating her family history and speaking with a fake Spanish accent.
Ireland, who is 25 years old and the daughter of actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, said Tuesday that she had left Los Angeles “with the intention of escaping the public eye” after experiencing anxiety she “didn’t know how to manage.”
"Stories come out about my family members that often times are fabricated or blown out of proportion," she wrote on Tuesday, Dec. 29. "I've spent so much time getting worked up and upset seeing people dig into my parent's divorce and relationship history, into my past having visited a mental rehabilitation facility, and so many PRIVATE ordeals made public."
"That's the thing I can say that most of you don't understand…what it's like to have your family's private affairs aired out and analyzed by millions of strangers," she said, adding she wasn’t asking for “any kind of sympathy."
She went on to distance herself from Hilaria’s heritage controversy, writing that she loves her stepmother.
'Like I mentioned yesterday, I do love my step mom very much. I think she's a strong, kind, and a caring human being,” she said. “Without saying anything further on all of this, I think it is her business and not my own to discuss her family background and answer your questions.”
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Sunday, Hilaria shared two videos on Instagram where she explained her ethnic background, saying that she takes people “questioning (her) identity and culture…very seriously.”
"I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain," Baldwin, 36, wrote. "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."
"This is a country of a lot of different cultures, and I think that we can be different parts of ourselves with different people," Baldwin concluded. "I feel really lucky that I grew up with two cultures, I grew up speaking two languages."
She also stressed that she identifies as white and her ethnic makeup includes "many, many, many things.”
In her post, Ireland asked people to stop cyberbullying.
“I don’t see the significance in bullying anyone. Yes, it’s important to educate, and YES, it’s beyond ok to express frustration and confusion and anger…but I think sending threatening messages isn’t really going to get any kind of message across either.”
Ireland’s fans mostly seemed to take her side, posting words of encouragement in the comments.
“i just have a hard time wrapping my head around how bored someone’s gotta be to care about some stupid s--- like that and put energy into being pissed off about it,” one person wrote.
Others defended the media coverage surrounding Hilaria.
“Just please use discretion with the “consider the source” messaging,” another person replied. “Journalists covered the story using direct quotes and video footage of Hilaria herself. It’s not really fair to discredit the media in this instance and I hope moving forward honesty and truth are prioritized in your family’s response to this situation.”
The controversy around Hilaria’s background emerged last week after she had a back-and-forth on Instagram with comedian and fellow mom Amy Schumer. One Twitter user, whose post went viral, juxtaposed how Baldwin spoke on various media appearances over the years, including a demonstration for TODAY Food at the People en Español festival in 2015, with her more recent social media videos.
