Alec Baldwin’s Career Panic After Losing ‘Match Game’ Gig to Martin Short and ‘Rust ‘Struggles

Alec Baldwin lost his gig hosting Match Game to funnyman Martin Short — and sources say the 30 Rock alum is feeling stung by the rejection as he tries to scramble his way back to the top of Hollywood.

Alec, 67, helmed the game show reboot for five seasons. Now, an insider claims that the Emmy winner is “hurt” because he wasn’t even consulted about coming back for more.

The source explains, “For all his bravado, Alec’s a broken man. Whether he realizes or not, it’s a firm message from producers — and lots of people in Hollywood — that he’s become a joke and a has-been.”

The actor scored a major legal victory in July when a New Mexico judge permanently dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against him for his accidental on-set shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 over the prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence to the defense.

Alec insists he didn’t know a live round was mistakenly loaded into his prop gun — and claims the weapon went off without him pulling the trigger.

Still, sources say Alec’s reputation remains tarnished by the tragic incident.

Sources also say that the longtime leading man’s TLC reality show The Baldwins — which exposes his chaotic life with wife Hilaria, 41, and their seven children, aged 2 to 11 — has brought him nothing but ridicule from industry peers.

The insider says, “They just see how far he’s sunk. He carries so much baggage with him and he’s an angry guy — no matter how whipped he is by Hilaria — and that doesn’t help things. Their reality show proved to a lot of folks in town that he hasn’t got pulling power.”

Adds the insider, “Bosses are much happier with Martin Short, who’s a people person and makes everybody laugh and feel good. For Alec, it’ll be an uphill battle to fight his way back if he wants to — which he does.”