Alec Baldwin has quit Twitter in the wake of a spat he had with a Daily Mail Journalist, after which he was accused of homophobia.

Baldwin two weeks ago posted an open letter to GLAAD apologising for comments he made about a Daily Mail journalist in which he called him a “toxic little queen”.

He previously launched a homophobic Twitter attack on a Daily Mail reporter, calling him a “toxic little queen” and urging his followers to “straighten out this fucking little bitch.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Baldwin outlined his reasons for quitting the site, saying that he had realised that the late actor James Gandolfini, who died last month, did not use the site.

“I went to Jimmy Gandolfini’s funeral, and when I was there I realised Jimmy Gandolfini didn’t have Twitter,” he said. “Jimmy Gandolfini was so beloved as a person, and he was so admired as an actor, and he didn’t give a fuck about social media.

“I really learned a lesson at the funeral. I said to myself, ‘This is all a waste of time’. Meaning it’s fun sometimes, but less and less and less. It’s just another chink in your armour for people to come and kill you. I stopped and said to myself, ‘I’m going to try where I just don’t do this anymore’.”

A coalition of LGBT rights activists last week called on credit card provider Capital One to sack actor Alec Baldin as its spokesman, following the argument.

CNN host Anderson Cooper, did not join the coalition making the calls, but did question what had happened, and why there had not been stronger repercussions.

“Why does #AlecBaldwin get a pass when he uses gay slurs?” Cooper tweeted. “If a conservative talked of beating up a ‘queen’ they would be vilified.”