Rick Leventhal DELETES Alec Baldwin costume photo out of 'respect'

Rick Leventhal says he deleted a photo of him dressed as out of ‘respect’ for late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after facing a slew of backlash the day before.

The former correspondent, 61, told  why he took down the tone-deaf snap, which showed him in Western attire as Baldwin on the set of Rust, where Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed last month.

‘People twisted our outfits and intent in ways neither of us could’ve imagined and filled our page with hate,’ he told the site, also referring to wife Kelly Dodd, who was slammed for wearing a generic Native American costume.

He continued: ‘We took the post down out of respect for the victims’ families and only hope the cancel culture won’t cancel Halloween next.’ 

The day before Dodd and Leventhal sparked outrage for the wildly insensitive  costumes.

Rick seemed to be looking for a reaction as he captioned the photo saying: ‘Kelly celebrated her native American culture and I celebrated the great American film actor Alec Baldwin.’

Despite many of Leventhal’s followers being accustomed to his controversial antics, the decision to make light of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins was a step too far.

‘A child lost his mother,’ one commented, while another wrote: ‘On the very day that a young boy buries his mother, this is in poor taste.’

Mother-of-one Hutchins was buried in a private funeral in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Friday after she was accidentally shot dead by Baldwin on October 21. 

Before deleting the post Leventhal stood by his ensemble, telling The New York Post on Monday: ‘In no way was I trying to offend anyone, except Alec Baldwin. He’s a jerk and deserves all the heat he’s getting.’

Others were offended by his wife’s decision to wear a stereotypical Native American outfit. Dodd’s claims she is ’30 percent Native American.’  

One follower wrote: ‘So talk about your heritage not mock it.. seriously? A costume? You can’t argue with stupid.’

Another said: ‘Yes the wardrobe of native Americans is beautiful but it’s not a costume n hopefully u will learn that.’

Leventhal made the post on Sunday, after which his comments section was quickly flooded with disdain for their costumes.   

‘Pathetic you have to attach Alec Baldwin to this,’ one follower wrote. ‘A horrific thing happened on set and you think Halloween is the time to display such disrespect.’  

A follower called Elaine Rieger said: ‘Really insensitive, but no one is surprised. She will bring you down wait and see.’ 

Another commented: ‘I always defend you both, but hard to find dressing up as Alec funny when a young woman’s life was cut short and a young boy is now without his mum.’ 

Dodd – who has not spoken publicly yet about her costume – told E! News in January that she was ’30 percent Native American.’

‘My point was I’m black, Asian, Mexican, Spanish, I’m 30 percent Native American and I’m one percent Jewish. And I’m all races. I don’t see people with color, I see people. That’s it,’ she said at the time.  

‘I think the fashion is beautiful & this was a tribute & celebration,’ the fired Real Housewives of Orange County star, 46, captioned a slideshow of photos from the night. 

Others criticized Dodd’s decision to hold a gun to her head in the photos published to her husband’s Instagram page, mere weeks after sharing an insensitive post regarding a man’s possible attempted suicide. 

Dodd has also faced backlash for her controversial opinions on COVID-19, as well as facing accusations of racism and homophobia. 

In February, she was dropped from her partnership with Positive Beverages due to her ‘controversial views and opinions’ on coronavirus.

She first partnered with the brand in February 2019 and regularly promoted the sparkling beverage on her social media accounts and in episodes of RHOC.

Kelly also made headlines last April after saying on social media that she believed that the pandemic was ‘Gods way of thinning the herd’ as she argued with an Instagram user who called her out after taking a cross-country flight.

After a user wrote to Dodd, ‘If non-essential workers keep traveling back and forth like you, it will last longer,’ the reality star replied, ‘Do you know how many people died from the H1N1, the swine flu or SARS? It’s 25% get your facts straight you are only hearing numbers not the reality! It’s God’s way of thinning the herd!’

She subsequently apologized for the remarks and attempted to clarify her statement.

‘When I wrote that it’s ‘God’s way of thinning the herd,’ that’s not what I meant,’ Dodd said on Instagram Stories. ‘What I meant was, ‘Do these pandemics happen because it’s God’s way?’ I’m not God. I’m not insensitive.’

‘I feel bad for all the families that have lost loved ones, and I do think we should all stay at home and Situs judi Slot online uang asli protect everybody. That’s not what I meant, and I want to apologize to anyone who got offended, OK? I’m sorry.’

She apologized again while appearing on Watch What Happens Live, saying of her past controversy: ‘It was insensitive and I apologize if I hurt or offended anybody.’