Did Alec Baldwin's estranged daughter deserve his rant?

Question

"You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being," he says, apparently upset that she did not answer her phone for a planned call.
"You are a rude, thoughtless little pig."

HEAR THE CALL (censored version):
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/showbiz/2007/04/20/sot.alec.baldwin.rant.tmz
UNCENSORED VERSION (Quicktime):
http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_audio/0419_baldwin.mp3
THE STORY:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/19/baldwin.bassinger.ap/index.html

Aside from his rant, the other point is...
why was his daughter NOT at the phone to receive his call at the scheduled time?
Would ANY other father have (perhaps justifiably) gotten this upset also?

Answer 1

I listened to the voice mail message and he sounded very very angry, no doubt. But keep in mind, there are always at least two sides to every story, every divorce, every custody battle. We can't be sure that his ex, Kim Basinger, hasn't been coaching her daughter in how to behave towards Alec. My husband's friend is going through a bitter divorce in which his soon-to-be ex has messed with their daughter's mind so badly that the girl refuses to see her father or her father's parents and now has to be in therapy.



Both parents are responsible for looking out for the well-being of their children during a divorce. We don't know the whole story here; we don't know what measures might have been taken that have driven Alec's outburst. Don't judge what you don't know.

Answer 2

I always thought Baldwin was type-cast as the bumbling arch-villains who thought they were above it all. As an actor he was always something of a hack, why was he dropped from the Clancy franchise after Red October and replaced with Harrison Ford? Shooting was adapted to Fords schedule, so Baldwin was available. Bottom line is I think Alec Baldwin is a troubled man and maybe a dangerous parent, whose P.R. people are trying to spin him out of it. What you heard on the phone was a call to a child and that was NO ACTOR.

Answer 3

Alec Baldwin has many issues as well as Kim Basinger, they have a child and should be trying to do whats best for her at all times and it seem the two parents are being selfish and treating there child as just anothe possetion to be fought over . This should have never been leaked to the nnews media but it also should have never been said. I Just feel bad for Ireland to have to be put through all of this, she never asked to be part of such a disfunctional family and should be allowed to grow with some sense of normalcy

Answer 4

whether or not his daughter is a spoiled brat and has done wrong- this typr of rant is certainly not going to encourage her to be any other way. It is not the parents job to bully the child into taking one side or the other but to guide the child in the way that they should go. It is one thing to get upset about her not being at the phone at an appointed time but it is another to degrade her and provoke anger- it is no wonder she did not want to talk to him- I certainly would not have and if I were her mother, knowing this kind of filth was capable of being directed at my child, I would not force her or encourage her to talk to him either. I would not bash him to her but she would have a clear choice over whether or not she wanted to continue a relationship with an obviously oppressive, controlling abusive man.

He showed no concern or care for his daughters feelings and what she is going through, only cared about his image and whether he was being served or not.



I find it highly ironic that a supposed war hating, peace loving, left wing liberal would have no problems behaving like this to an 11 year old girl! Daughter or not- geez go join the war and pick on someone your own size if you have that much rage that you cannot get control over. How on earth does he expect his daughter to have self control and consideration for others when he has obviously not modeled it for her.

This man needs help before he is allowed to be any more of an influence in his daughters life

Answer 5

No, his point was that the phone was switched off, but all that was way over the top and I gotta wonder what the heck he was gonna do to straighten her out. As if that message was not enough of a verbal bashing, in fact too much of one. Wow putting the mother down to the daughter and calling the daughter stupid basically that is just plain over the top. Anger management problems, that one.

Answer 6

No! No child deserves to be spoken to like this - it is child abuse, plain and simple - regardless of what Kim Basinger has done to Alec Baldwin and vice versa. He has serious anger management issues and I wouldn't let my child near him without being supervised until he has undertaken serious counselling. He obviously still hates Kim Basinger and he needs to get over it and get on with his life and not drag his poor little girl into his problems. What an idiot.

Answer 7

No , she did not deserve the rant..or the implied threats . I imagine the tape was aired as a protection "tool" - after listening to the abject rage in Baldwin's voice as he tells his child he is going to hop on a plane and teach her a few things ..and get back on the plane . Isn't that what O.J. Simpson did ? The intent to cause bodily harm was definitely implied .

Answer 8

EVERYONE has spoken to someone in a manner not appropriate. In the same line of thinking, EVERYONE has been a victim of enduring words that should have never been spoken. The reality is that these bitter, angry, boundary-crossing words (as illustrated by Alec) are often spoken to the people we love the very most, for those with whom we feel the most passion and intensity of love. This is not an excuse, this is not a proclamation that verbal tyranny is acceptable, however we should all sit still for a moment and play through our familial memory album and most likely, we will recall a time when we crossed a line and/or someone we love very much crossed a line with us. We have all been hurt by the ones we love just the same as we have been hurt-inflicting to those we love.



Parents are not perfect people. Parents are entitled to make mistakes privately with their families and not have those mistakes aired all over television and plastered all over newspapers. For all of those who are judging Alec, Kim, or the child for that matter, consider stopping for a moment to consider the internal dynamics of your own family's tragedies, sufferings, losses and obstacles.



Being a parent myself and one that will admit to making mistakes from time to time, reminds me to be slow to levy judgements.

Answer 9

No, of course she didn't deserve it - she is just a child. However, this has been a long, unpleasant, drawn out custody battle. I think that Kim Basinger has tried to keep their daughter away from Alec, and she's probably lied to the daughter about him just to poison the relationship. He probably tries to reach his daughter all the time, and just got frustrated.



My husband, who is the best father in the world (seriously... his kids adore him now), was also treated this way by his ex-wife. She lied to his kids about him and did everything she could do to ruin their relationship with him. My husband never lost his temper like Alec did, but it was very difficult to go through. Children are very easily influenced by their parents. I don't agree with what Alec did, but I can understand his frustration. My husband now has the best relationship ever with his kids, and they resent their mom for lying to them. Kids grow up and figure out the truth for themselves.

Answer 10

An 11 year old child never deserves a rant like that. I think the child is caught in the middle of a nasty divorce and custody battle, but there is no excuse for that rant.

Answer 11

I would really have to agree with Rene and Sally,I mean no what he said is NOT okay,its definetly NOT okay to call your daughter a thoughtless little pig and especially out of line to say she didnt have the brains of a decent human being.But this has been a long painful drawn out custody battle and he has probably reached the end of his rope emotionally,we all get mad,sometimes more then others,sometimes we all lose temper and say things we dont mean and wish we could take back.I can think of more then a few times that my dad lost his temper talking to me when I was growing up,granted he never said THOSE kind of things but it would be easy for all of us to sit here and point fingers but who knows what the situation really is there,I think hes just overly frustrated and lost his temper.They need to be working together raising their daughter and I dont have too much admiration for Kim leaking that tape all over the press.

Answer 12

As a fellow Bay Shore grade school pal (Hi Batman) I am embarrassed for him and his family. Kim, finally by airing the dirty laundry will show Alec for the sad man he has become.

Talented, brilliant and obsessed. May God and that gorgeous daughter forgive him.

Answer 13

He was frustrated and Kim took advantage of the situation SHE put him in and made it available to the public. I think she is wrong... letting that tape get out will hurt her daughter more than anything he could have said privately.



What a shame. The one who says she is protecting her daughter from a madman makes her daughters pain public. SHE should be punished for THAT more than him saying PIG. Parents have the right to discipline their children and he doesnt have the opportunity to do it in person obviously.

Answer 14

I don't think he is building relationships, if she was 18 fair enough, but she is 11. he is a disgrace, but Kim B is far, far worse for using this to air their dirty laundry. I think Kim B doesn't deserve to classed as a mother, Imagine what her daughter will be going through at school because of this just because her ***** of a mother wanted to get one up on her ex. Horrible stupid cow.

Answer 15

First of all isn't this his only child for a man of almost fifty? He wants to be the sun, moon and stars for this kid and cannot even get on the phone with her? Girls these days are by far innocent, I know I have two teenagers. He did not call her horrible things like c u next tuesday which he could have. The most horrible thing is that man is not only being manipulated for years by his ex but now is daughter is becoming the same way, I think that would be upsetting. For her at 11 to not obey him is VERY wrong, more than his verbal berating. I am sorry, the kid probably deserved more. Hey didn't they used to stone kids for disobeying?

Answer 16

Everyone is accusing the mother of truning the child against the father - I DISAGREE- he did it all by himself with incidents like this. I don't blame mom for trying to protect the child from him. And if he had a tape of her saying these things he would have leaked it too.......Oh gee so the phone wasn't on at the exact time. I've missed calls by a minute or two. You just wait and dial again.

Answer 17

First the media airs the VT killer's manifesto. Now they air Alec Baldwin's phone call.



Are they all becoming the National Enquirer???

Answer 18

If your Dad spoke to you this way, would you particularly care to wait by the phone for him to call? What a douchebag!

Answer 19

Very well said, Rene. I totally agree.

Answer 20

I've never liked him. He's always seemed a little weird. Yea..calling your daughter a pig..I wouldn't talk to my worst enemy like that. He needs parenting classes.

Answer 21

Oh please. The kid is undoubtedly disrespectful and probably deserved at least some of what she got. I would have been upset too. I actually admired his resraint.