Tweet
Baldwin Vs. Basinger Battle
'You're a rude, thoughtless little pig' - star's phone rant at 11-year-old daughter
Family arguments are usually conducted behind closed doors - or sometimes through them. But an argument between actor Alec Baldwin and his 11-year-old daughter has become public after a voice message he left her was leaked, adding an ugly twist to the custody battle between Baldwin and his ex-wife, Kim Basinger.
Upset that his daughter Ireland failed to answer her phone at a pre-arranged time, Baldwin left an expletive-filled tirade on her voicemail, calling her "a rude, thoughtless little pig," raging "you've insulted me for the last time", and threatening to "straighten your *** out".
The recording was given to the US gossip website TMZ.com, which posted an audio file on which Baldwin can be heard to shout: "I don't give a damn that you're 12 years old or 11 years old, or a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the *** who doesn't care about what you do."
The recording quickly became an internet sensation yesterday and was aired on US cable news networks, including CNN, throughout the day.
Earlier in the week, the angry rant had been played to a court in Los Angeles, which suspended Baldwin's visiting rights until a hearing next month. Once one of Hollywood's golden couples, Basinger and Baldwin divorced in 2002 and have since been fighting for custody.
Baldwin, 49, who starred in The Cooler and Glengarry Glen Ross, told his side of the story on his website. "I'm sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now," he wrote.
He made the call to Ireland, who lives with Basinger in California, on April 11, shortly after appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman in New York, when he had joked and said that his daughter was "doing great". But a few hours later, when she did not answer his call, he screamed: "This crap you pull on me with this goddamn phone situation that you would never dream of doing to your mother, and you do it to me constantly."
A statement by Baldwin's spokesman yesterday accused Basinger and her lawyers of leaking the recording, and said: "In the best interest of the child, Alec will do what the mother is pathologically incapable of doing ... keeping his mouth shut and obeying the court order." His lawyers filed papers blaming Basinger and her lawyers for leaking the voicemail message, and calling for them to be held in contempt.
Her lawyer denied the accusation, saying: "I am concerned that Mr Baldwin's recent statement, wherein he attempts to shift responsibility to Kim and her lawyers for his issues with Ireland, shows just how out of touch he is with the reality and gravity of the situation."
As Alec Baldwin's angry words to his daughter are being broadcast around the world, the 49-year-old actor is explaining himself on his Web site.
"Although I have been told by numerous people not to worry too much, as all parents lose their patience with their kids, I am most saddened that this was released to the media because of what it does to a child," Baldwin wrote on his Web site. "I'm sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now."
Baldwin and ex-wife Kim Basinger had a bitter divorce in 2002. There have been ongoing public feuds since she filed for divorce in 2001.
"You have to go through this to understand. (Although I hope you never do.) I am sorry for what happened," Baldwin also wrote on his Web site. "But I am equally sorry that a court order was violated, which had deliberately been put under seal in this case."
Celebrity news Web site TMZ.com posted Thursday a ranting message from Baldwin to his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, and someone released that message to the media.
Baldwin's attorney, Vicki Greene, said that she filed a court order Friday "to determine how the tape got leaked and to determine whether actions should be taken."
Greene told the television show "The Insider" that "whatever happened was either intentional, reckless or negligent."
Greene said that the matter is set for a June 5 hearing.
On the recording, Baldwin can be heard screaming and admonishing the child, calling her a pig.
"You are a rude, thoughtless little pig," he screamed.
"You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being," he said.
The child did not answer her phone for a previously planned phone call, which set him off.
"I don't give a damn that you're 12 years old, or 11 years old, or that you're a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the *** who doesn't care about what you do as far as I'm concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone."
He goes on to say that he plans to fly from New York to Los Angeles "for the day just to straighten you out on this issue."
He said she had better be ready because he was going to fly there on a plane, straighten her out, then get back on a plane and fly back home.
The recording was published by celebrity news site TMZ.com, which said that the call was placed on April 11.
Baldwin's spokesman said in a statement Thursday that the 49-year-old actor will be "keeping his mouth shut and obeying court orders" in the best interest of the child.
"The mother and her lawyer leaked this sealed material in violation of a court order," he continued. "Although Alec acknowledges that he should have used different language in parenting his child, everyone who knows him privately knows what he has been put through for the past six years."
Calls to Basinger's attorneys were not returned. Her spokeswoman also did not return calls. Baldwin's attorney also did not return a call seeking comment.
Baldwin and Basinger, 53, were married in 1993. They have been involved in prolonged legal disputes over custody and other issues since she filed for divorce in 2001.
Basinger was charged with contempt of court in October for violating terms of a 2004 custody agreement. A motion by her lawyers to dismiss the charges was denied Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The next hearing on visitation issues is scheduled for May 4.
Comment