Alec Baldwin's TSA rant made headlines this week after the actor complained on Twitter that his 5-month-old daughter was selected for a pat down by airport security while he was flying from the Bahamas to New York. It was a big oops.
What Baldwin didn't realize was that the Transportation Security Administration doesn't have jurisdiction over airports in the Bahamas.
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The mistake was pointed out by a Twitter follower of Baldwin's as well as a Homeland Security official who told NBC News that the
TSA doesn't conduct screenings in the Bahamas because it is not part of the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Baldwin acknowledged the error in a subsequent tweet, writing: "I wrote re security at Bahamas airport, US TSA or no, to highlight over- zealous practices."
As for those who pointed out the error of his ways online, Baldwin continued, "but thank God 4 that brigade of geniuses. . . for your wealth of knowledge and understanding."
"I guess what I'm saying is: Traveling in the US is a pain in the ... ass," he concluded, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The TSA, which was formed in November 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, is often criticized for its inspection techniques which many argue are unnecessarily invasive and in the case of its use of X-Ray machines, potentially harmful due to radiation exposure.
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In 2011, the TSA changed its pat-down procedures after a video showed a 6-year-old girl at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport enduring the procedure as well as a modified pat-down being performed on a baby after the child's stroller set off an explosives' alert at the Kansas City, Mo., airport.
This isn't the first time the 55-year-old Baldwin has had an issue at the airport.
In 2011, the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor was
kicked off an American Airlines flight when he refused to power down his smartphone while playing the game "Words with Friends."