The Alec Baldwin Voice Mail Scandal, He May Be Getting A Bad Rap
I am not going to defend Alec Baldwin's reputation as a hot head, or his well-known anger-management issues. They are stuff of legend at this point. But I do feel the need to interject some perspective into this whole "threatening message to his daughter" nonsense.Â
As possibly the only celebrity gossip writer who is not only married, but has children AND step-children - I have seen first hand the complete and utter b.s that goes on between two otherwise reasonable people. Add some "unreasonable" people into the equation and it gets worse. Add self-absorbed, childish, pampered, self-entitled individuals in the mix and crap like the leaked voice mail message is going to happen.
My impression from listening to the message is clearly Alec is pissed. He feels taken advantage of and out of the loop. He's dealing with his child filtered through the manipulation of her mother. I am not trying to bad-mouth Kim Basinger or his daughter Ireland. I have no idea what goes on within this trifecta of broken hearts, but from what I have read Kim and Alec have not handled their divorce with respect for one another and for her to leak that tape to the media — what a completely twisted and deceitful thing to do. And, if the tables were turned, Alec might have done the same thing to her. These two people hate each other and are putting their daughter in the middle.Â
But this doesn't mean that Alec should have his visitation rights revoked. Nowhere within that message did I get the impression that he doesn't love his daughter. Unless you have been in this situation - you can't imagine the level of frustration a parent feels when they know they are being maligned by the other, and separated unduly. Plus, let's face it, these are Hollywood A-holes - a whole new level of attitude we mere pedestrians couldn't hope to comprehend.
I feel sorry for Alec. His entire personality has been changed since the beginning of this divorce, he is an angry guy. But I stand by my assertion that he loves his daughter, probably very much. I won't defend what he said, it was grossly inappropriate, but in the heat of anger parents often say things they don't feel or mean, and children do the same. The parent/child bond that we see on T.V. isn't the reality of what happens in real life. Parents and children say awful things to each other. Why? Because the feelings are deep, the emotions are raw. Add the pain and frustration of divorce and that's a toxic cocktail of feelings.
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