Flynet Alec Baldwin is just the latest member of a increasingly petulant celebrity club (how's that for a word with friends?). And just like John Rich and his recent alcohol-abetted brush with an airline crew, Baldwin's behavior successfully gained him admittance into Hollywood's Mile High Low Point Club.
In a piece originally published in September when The L Word's Leisha Hailey and her girlfriend were escorted from a flight for disputed reasons, here's a look at five air-bound stars who ran into more than turbulence:
1. Snakes Pee on a Plane: Sometimes, you just gotta go. At least that's what actor Gérard Depardieu seemed to be thinking when he turned an airplane's walkway into a restroom. The French film icon got into a sticky situation when his Air France flight from Paris to Dublin was delayed and he was told he would have to wait to use the airplane bathroom, because it was locked. After proclaiming "Je veux pisser, je veux pisser" ("I want to pee"), Depardieu unzipped his fly and wet the jet's carpet.
2. Trouser Troubles: Apparently, some airlines aren't keen on passengers making fashion statements…particularly those of the sagging pants variety. Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong learned this the hard way when he refused to pull up his droopy drawers after an attendant asked him to, and was promptly booted from the Southwest Airlines flight. The good news, though, is that if you're Lady Gaga boarding a flight in fishnets, panties and a bra, you're all good to go.
3. Barbshop Star's Trip Cut Short: Veteran actor and comic Michael Colyar wanted nothing more than to kick back, relax and enjoy the ride on his United Airlines flight, but things took a turn for the worse when the Barbershop star was asked to accommodate a late passenger's belongings by removing his own from an overhead bin. After an attendant asked Colyar to put his computer bag and hat under his seat so that a white female passenger's suitcase could be stored there, he asked to speak to a flight supervisor about the situation. Rather than get assistance, security asked him to step off the plane and he missed his flight. The African American thespian, who believed the incident stemmed from racial discrimination, later urged his Twitter followers to contact United Airlines about the way their crew handled the confrontation.
4. Big-Time Dispute: Before Clerks director Kevin Smith dropped some major pounds, he couldn't catch a break when it came to plane rides. The filmmaker got the boot from a Southwest flight for being a self-proclaimed "fatty" after he bought one ticket instead of the required two (at the time) for overweight passengers. But that wasn't the last of Smith's airplane snafus. Less than a year later, Smith went on a blogging rampage again when he wasn't allowed to board a Virgin America flight with his wife when they arrived less than 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
5. Vacation Schmaycation: Just because Joan Rivers can dish out a good joke doesn't mean she'll take an airline snub lying down. E!'s own Fashion Police star took Continental Airlines to task after she was bumped from a Costa Rica to Newark, N.J., flight after personnel had problems reading her passport. As a result, Rivers' seat was given away and she had to drive six-and-a-half hours(!) to another airport in order to fly back to the U.S. Although Continental offered to pay her the difference in cost between her former first-class ticket and the coach one she had to accept, Rivers demanded more compensation and more award miles for her troubles. We can't say we blame her.
(Originally published Sept. 3, 2011, at 9:01 a.m. PT)