I have tried to ignore the whole Alec Baldwin voicemail, but seeing as it dovetails nicely with my recent criticisms of the media I’ll add my two cents. Divorce is a private matter, even if you’re a celebrity. Parents engage in this kind of nastiness every day. Kim Basinger is no saint. She’s put her daughter’s relationship with her father into a little box, with visitation and even phone calls being scheduled precisely. It’s ridiculous and vicious. It’s every bit as obscene as what Alec said on that voicemail. The deal here is that you have two people that hate each other and in the middle is some poor kid that loves them both.Â
Alec Baldwin is obviously frustrated. He is angry. When he doesn’t reach his daughter he wonders what the hell he’s fighting for. It boils over and he spews vitriolic nonsense into the phone. Is it right? No. Is it human? Yes. Alec Baldwin has always been accused of being a hot head. Frankly, I’m shocked that there wasn’t some kind of audio like this released to the media prior to this incident. The guy is hardly a shrinking violet.
So, we have the voicemail released to the media and it is played ad nauseum. I think the funniest use of it was on ‘The Howard Stern Show’ where they called a tow truck operator and spliced in bits of Baldwin’s irate rant. Still, it’s pretty sickening that a certain tabloid website chose to publicize the audio. It’s obvious that somebody in Basinger’s camp made sure that this got out there. The only people that look worse than Baldwin through all of this are Basinger and her people as well as the media outlet that made sure this was circulated everywhere. Harvey Levin is a real piece of garbage. From ‘People’s Court’ to gossip monger… I don’t think we’d see Doug Llewelyn going this low! Ah, yes the preachy media, making sure that this poor kid Ireland has to relive this stupid incident for the rest of her life. Kim Bassinger, for mother of the year! Thanks, uncle Harvey! It’s all media, the news is gossip and gossip is news.
In another, “only in America”, moment Baldwin is now taking to the airwaves to make his apologies. He’s going to first grovel on ‘The View’, and then he’s going to get shrunk by Dr. Phil McGraw, America’s shrink! It’s a media circus! Oh, and just when it will all have settled down we’ll have Baldwin out there peddling his book on divorce while we are reminded through clips of the aforementioned voicemail just why it is that Alec knows what he’s talking about.
Media and celebrity… media and gossip the love/hate relationships of 2007. These people all deserve one another!
Story about Baldwin’s mea culpa tour.
