Alec Baldwin really, really loves the smartphone game Words With Friends.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

he petty controversy: Call it "Words with Friends-gate." On Tuesday, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin said via Twitter that an American Airlines flight attendant had "reamed" him out for playing the popular Scrabble-like game on his smartphone while his plane sat at the gate. The airline said on Facebook that an indignant Baldwin refused to turn off his device, got up and "slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed." Baldwin, who was kicked off the flight, "was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language." Baldwin has since apologized, but maintains that flying has become "a Greyhound bus experience."

The reaction: "Words With Friends' parent company, Zynga, really ought to give Alec Baldwin a thank-you gift," says Maura Judkis at The Washington Post. Since the actor got kicked off a plane for playing the "addictive game," Words With Friends has seen a boost in popularity. But Baldwin wasn't booted for his game addiction, says Reelz. He was kicked off for his nerve-jangling door-slamming. And sadly, Baldwin has now deactivated his popular Twitter account, says Sean O'Neal at The Onion's A.V. Club. So in this "battle between airline crews and famous people on Twitter, somehow nobody won."