Alec Baldwin apologizes after fiery rant at daughter, 11 [breaks silence]

AFP via Yahoo ^ | 4/20/07

[advance_copy]

Alec Baldwin issued an apology on Friday for unleashing a volcanic tirade at his 11-year-old daughter and blamed "certain people" for leaking the rant to US media.

The Oscar-nominated star of "The Departed" branded daughter Ireland a "rude, thoughtless, little pig" in a fiery voicemail message that emerged on celebrity websites on Thursday.

It is the latest twist to the bitter legal wrangling between Baldwin and ex-wife Kim Basinger over custody and visitation rights relating to Ireland. The couple split in 2001.

Baldwin's tirade was apparently triggered by Ireland's failure to switch her mobile phone on for a scheduled call with her father.

"Once again I've made an ass out of myself trying to get to a phone at a specific time," Baldwin says in the message. "I'm tired of playing this game with you. You have insulted me for the last time.

[no dems]

I beg your pardon. Stephen Baldwin is a good, decent, Christian, Conservative Republican.

[Albion Wilde]

When my children were little and we would tuck them in, and pray next to their bed, I always said, “Thank you God for loaning (child’s name) to me, and giving me the opportunity to love (child’s name)”. I would have cut off my right arm to have had the same experience as a child.

The best thing that can come of child abuse is the adult overcomer who determines never to do that to his or her own child. God bless you always.

[karnage]

No. Was Stephen Baldwin in it? Was he good or bad?

[word_warrior_bob]

Nope, no apologies can be accepted, ask Imus.

You MUST be fired.

So Alec, what do you think of the Imus fiasco?

[jhw61]

Honestly, o.k. o.k. So like I can’t stand you o.k. and I don’t want to ever talk to you again o.k. and I want all those receipts o.k. and I don’t want to talk to you again o.k.

[Albion Wilde]

It doesn’t matter what Kim has done, no matter how frustrating. No child should be spoken to that way, especially a girl.

If he is so justified in being a good father and not being a manipulator, he needs to be the mature one here and be a good example of a loving parent. Blaming the mother is no excuse for what he did and what he said.

None.

[jhw61]

I agree that someone has to be the parent and it doesn’t appear that the daughter is calling her Daddy to take her out of her miserable Mom’s home.

[KsSunflower]

Tell me this...what possible advantage was to be gained on Ireland’s behalf by the public release of this tape?

The answer is none.

Using it in a court where the documents are sealed could certainly have done much to keep Ireland from suffering future abuse from her father.

However, all Kim has done by releasing this to the public has been to inflict more pain on her daughter and it has been done pubicly. Do you not think that Ireland’s friends have now heard what her dad has said to her? She will have to continue living with the public fallout of what her mom did just to make her dad look bad in the media.

Someone should have been protecting that girl. Neither parent has done that.

[Oztrich Boy]

You don’t understand, Kim and the courts have cut his nuts off.

A succinct statement of Alec's viewpoint.

[Albion Wilde]

" 'Pig' has an entirely different innuendo towards a female than towards a male."
What is that different meaning?

When directed toward a female, it has a sexual connotation — that the female called this is sexually impure. With a male, it is more just that he is a slob or a glutton.

[KsSunflower]

Yeah, well, my parents were divorced and I would have much preferred to live with my dad. However, he moved out and my mom stayed in our home; which meant I could have my same friends and stay at my same school...so that’s where I stayed.

I don’t think your argument is one of strength. There may be a myriad of reasons Ireland is with her mom. It doesn't’t make what Kim did defensible.

[Albion Wilde]

What fantasy world do you live in? The courts almost always take the mother’s word as gospel.

I'm not endorsing this, but I think you are correct that the courts may favor the mother when the parents don't have much money. But when there is money, suddenly the lawyers go to great lengths to make as much trouble as possible so they can get more of the money. There are special divorce lawyers out there for the stay-at-home wives of professional men, because their husbands can pay to use the courts against their wives indefinitely. It can be hell on both the mothers and the children.

[jennyjenny]

Okay, but how does any of that make Baldwin less of a pathetic little man? Did he leave the voice mail message to his daughter or not?

[jhw61]

Hopefully you spent a lot quality time with your Dad and it made you a good parent today.

Nowadays, children can weigh in on custody battles right around Ireland’s age. Their opinions can weigh a lot or not depending on the case at hand.

[Albion Wilde]

Any mom worth her salt would NOT have released that to the media.

It does look as if the mom released it, but that's not proven yet. A neighbor, a friend, another relative, a maid or houseman, or even the child herself could have done it.

[Albion Wilde]

If you are not already aware of the work of an attorney named Andrew Vachss I highly recommend his lectures/writing regarding child abuse

I have read some brief articles in the pop press, but thanks for the recommendation to get into his stuff seriously. And best of luck with your work!

[Albion Wilde]

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit.]

Oh, thank you for posting that! I just couldn't remember where it was, and read the entire book of Proverbs during this thread looking for it in a "likely" place...

[dleecomeback07]

Here’s what’s truly disgusting. He had to confirm and send to get that message to her so he had a chance to delete it.

Why is his daughter being forced to talk to him at that time?

No loving father would consider getting to a phone to call his daughter making a butt out of himself.

I’d like to see him tell the parents of the VA Tech students who died about what a pain in the neck talking to his daughter is.

Or my friend in Iraq right now about really having to make sure people are there when you call.

[Issaquahking]

There's a difference between being a sperm donor, and being a father. Maybe you're not familiar with a a really ugly thing that happens in America, behind the curtain - it's called abuse 9it has a lot of different forms), It's very real, people die everyday from people expressing something, nobody wants to look at.

Maybe you've never seen the results of sick $hit. There is one person out there, that if they died tomorrow, no tears shed from this one. To know that individuals...much like baldwin and their ilk (profile of an abuser), believe the world rotates around them...F'em, they raise their hand in anger and do bodily harm, I cheer the mother, underling, whoever, that gets over on them. I know of a case where the guy went home and beat the hell out of his wife, she waited till he passed out on the bed. Then she took a thread and needle and sewed him in between the sheet and the mattress. She then beat the hell out of him with a cast iron frying pan. Put his sorry azz in the hospital for a good long time. That is justice served! Maybe it's what Alex needs...

[dleecomeback07]

He made it clear by that message he is why he’s alienated from his child.

Why does he live all the way across the country from her? Please understand any FReeper here who is across the country from your child because you have no choice this is different. He has a choice. He chooses to live 3000 miles away.