Source – Alec Baldwin says he’s quitting public life and possibly leaving New York City in a new 5,000-plus word essay in New York magazine — as told to writer Joe Hagan.

“I loathe and despise the media in a way I did not think possible,” Baldwin explained in the piece titled “Good-bye, Public Life.” “This is the last time I’m going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again.”

Now tell us how you really feel, Baldwin. And he does. The former “30 Rock” star touches upon — well pretty much everything — from his one-time MSNBC show, his many paparazzi run-ins and even his feud with Shia LaBeouf during the Broadway production of “Orphans.” Though he says he’s felt sorry for LaBeouf after his latest shenanigans, citing the “I Am Not Famous Anymore” bag.

To view Baldwin’s essay in it’s entirety, click here.

I don’t know what its like to be a celebrity. I don’t know what its like to have a camera shoved in my face everywhere I go. I don’t know what its like to have mine or my family’s privacy violated. There is a price for fame, and apparently the lengths the current generation of media are willing to go to in order to gain some inside knowledge is too much for some celebrities to handle. First there was Shia LaBeouf, who seems to have lost his mind and replaced it with a paper bag. Now it’s Alec Baldwin’s turn to shun the spotlight, the very spotlight that gave him his cushy New York home and the ability to move his new wife and child wherever he pleases. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m not dripping with sympathy, but there are far more people in far worse situations than Alec Baldwin. Unfortunately, we (myself included) are permanently fixated on celebrities in our culture. For the most part, celebrities are also fixated on the attention we give them. After all, what’s a movie star without their adoring fans paying to see his/her movie? What’s a rock star without their adoring fans paying to see his/her show? Now we’ve reached a point where celebrities want us to give them enough attention to be famous, but not so much where it effects their private lives. That’s a mighthy thin line, and we really have no way of walking across it without falling into chaos. So if celebrities really want to leave public life, then they should. Don’t put on an art exhibit. Don’t write a 5000 word essay for a major magazine publication. Just leave. I’m sure we’ll find someone new to fixate on.

– Ryan