Alec Baldwin Recalls Calling Paul McCartney an ‘Asshole’ During Yoga Class

For most, yoga is about mindfulness and finding inner peace. For Alec Baldwin, it’s about berating a member of The Beatles.

The actor recalled the time he called Paul McCartney “an asshole” during a yoga class in an appearance on the “Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson” podcast, released Wednesday, May 1.

While Baldwin, 66, revealed he is in the process of moving to Vermont, he’s currently living in Los Angeles, which affords him some time to hang out with some A-list friends. He recalled practicing yoga with a few of them.

“I used to take a yoga class with Lorne [Michaels], John Eastman, who’s Paul’s brother in-law, John Alexander [the painter], Lorne and I, there were five of us,” he began. “We would take a yoga class. We called ourselves the ‘yoga boys.”

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“And the only one who was really adept at yoga was McCartney. He would do a handstand or a headstand and he had the most lithe body you’ve ever seen — and back then he was in his late 60s — and he was so fit. One time he does a headstand before he leaves, and he gets up and whispers to me, he goes, ‘I’m gonna go take my daughter to lunch. I’ll see you guys later.'”

That’s when Baldwin said something he never thought he’d say to one of the most famous people on the planet.

“I looked up at him after he does the headstand and I go, ‘You’re an asshole,’” he said. “And I never thought I’d call one of The Beatles an asshole, but he was just always showing us up with his physical skills. He was a very fit guy.”

McCartney, 81, has also spoken of the “yoga boys,” saying in a 2020 appearance on the “Smartless” podcast, “we’re terrible.” He also talked about his headstand routine, which normally draws more positive reaction from onlookers at the gym.

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“At the end, I do a headstand, and [the weightlifters] come over to me, [and say] ‘Hey, that’s pretty impressive, man,’” he said.

It doesn’t stop there. McCartney also practices eye yoga — more subtle than a headstand, but he believes it is effective in preserving his sight.

In addition to yoga — eye and regular — the former Beatle revealed in a 2015 interview on his blog that he practices transcendental meditation.

“I think it’s always very good to get a sort of still moment in your day,” he said. “Whenever I have a chance in a busy schedule, I’ll do it … I always like to take a moment and just meditate. It’s a good thing.”