Comedian Amy Schumer described the controversy surrounding Hilaria Baldwin’s alleged heritage as “insane” and joked “you can’t just pretend you’re from Spain”.

Baldwin, wife of Hollywood star Alec, hit the headlines over Christmas after it emerged she was born in Boston and was originally named Hillary.

Amid accusations she had misled people about her heritage and faked a Spanish accent, Baldwin defended herself and said there is a “difference between hiding and creating a boundary”.

Actress Schumer poked fun at the controversy on social media and has now joked Baldwin will have welcomed the political turmoil of the last month as a distraction.

She told Entertainment Tonight: “I feel like it was so insane and entertaining that I think Hilaria is probably the only person who is happy about the insurrection in the Capitol, because it distracted (people) from that.

“She is amazing and I wish her and her family the best. And I hope she gets to visit Spain as much as she wants.”

Before the heritage controversy, Schumer shared a picture of Baldwin, 37, cradling one of her five children with husband Alec, 62, while in her underwear.

Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Baldwin
Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria, who was caught in a media storm after it was claimed she had lied about her heritage (PA)

Schumer posted the snap jokingly pretending it was her and told ET she deleted it because Baldwin appeared upset.

Schumer said: “It’s a little insane to be in, like, lingerie with your baby. I just thought that was a little funny, and then I saw that she made a video and she seemed a little bit upset.

“Not at me, but about the comments she was getting. I was just like, ‘I don’t want to be mean,’ and she seemed like maybe it hurt her feelings, so I just took it down.”

Schumer, mother to one-year-old son Gene, said she wanted to remove herself “out of the narrative”.

She added: “Look, she’s a mom. She has a million and a half kids, and that’s really hard. So I just, I don’t want them to be going through a bad time. But also, you can’t just pretend you’re from Spain.”