The internet set on fire last night saying that Alec Baldwin skipped the Emmys because the producers at Fox cut a joke he told about the News of the World hacking scandal in a taped segment. The real reason is much more boring.

Everyone seems to have misinterpreted a tweet Baldwin made about the joke being cut and painted it as a swipe at Rupert Murdoch, since he owns both Fox and News of the World. That would have been a great story, right? Wrong. Baldwin says that the real reason he didn't go was to host Tony Bennett's birthday party. Really? That's it! That's more boring than—well, Tony Bennett's birthday party.

Maybe Baldwin's just using that as an alibi because he doesn't want to piss off Murdoch. After all if someone needs to keep their voicemail from being hacked it's Alec Baldwin. Or maybe he just wanted to make out in public with his new girlfriend.

No, the whole thing just got blown out of proportion. In fact, as far back as August Baldwin was planning to ditch the ceremony which he did last year too. Looks like he has different priorities than most TV actors. This is so like a politician: using something he was going to do anyway, turning the spin around on it, and using it to make a statement. Is he really not running for office?

[Image of Alec Baldwin hosting Tony Bennett's birthday party last night so he could prove to soul crusher Rupert Murdoch he really had other plans via Getty]