-- Alec Baldwin is no stranger to bad press, thanks to a notoriously nasty divorce from actress Kim Basinger and an equally acrimonious 6-year custody battle over their daughter, Ireland. Most people with Web access know that fight reached a low point in 2007 when the actor berated his then-11-year-old daughter as a "rude, thoughtless little pig" via voice mail. Another disagreement with now 14-year-old Ireland is the reported cause of the "30 Rock" actor's latest woes. He was hospitalized briefly in New York early Thursday following a 911 call from his daughter, who allegedly panicked after she argued with her father and he told her he planned to "take some pills" and "end this." Later in the day, Baldwin lashed out at a New York Post photographer camped outside his apartment, lunging at his collar until police restrained him, according to the New York Daily News.
Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, told AOL News in a statement that the actor was hospitalized due to "a misunderstanding on one person's part."
Official damage control? Check. Not that Baldwin really needs it.
Robyn Beck, AFP / Getty Images Alec Baldwin currently stars in the NBC comedy "30 Rock." Unlike another tirade-spewing actor, Mel Gibson, Baldwin's baggage has never pushed him into full-fledged pariah status. In fact, he went on to win two Emmys, three Golden Globes and one of the most plum jobs in Hollywood --- co-host of next month's Oscars, aka the mother of all awards shows. His latest film, the romantic comedy, "It's Complicated," performed favorably at the box office and, last year, he hosted "Saturday Night Live" for the fourteenth time, second only to his Oscar co-host, Steve Martin.
He's no Tom Hanks, but Baldwin has managed to remain in our good graces despite some of his darker personal episodes.
"He has real life dramas. He is human. He is grappling with his issues and he makes mistakes," veteran entertainment industry publicist Jody Miller told AOL News. "I think if you can acknowledge your mistakes like he did with the phone comment to Ireland, you get more sympathy."
Baldwin has spoken frankly about his personal issues, telling Playboy magazine he contemplated suicide in the fall-out of The Voice Mail, and writing a book about divorce, "Promise to Ourselves," detailing the "parental alienation" syndrome he says he suffered during his battle with Basinger.
"I think there's always sympathy for a father trying to get his child back. He's conveyed that he's trying to do the best he can and that's the best way to play it," one public relations executive told AOL News, adding: "Kim Basinger doesn't have a saintly image either. If he were involved in a nasty divorce with Christie Brinkley, he'd be getting massacred."
Though Baldwin periodically weighs runs for political office, blogs for The Huffington Post and takes on other serious pursuits like crusading against animal cruelty, it can't hurt that he happens to be a self-deprecating comedy actor. He cracks up viewers and critics each week as the egomaniacal yet lovable Jack Donaghy on NBC's "30 Rock," a performance so good, it can remind viewers that an actor isn't just tabloid fodder, but a good old-fashioned entertainer.
"He keeps winning Emmys!" Miller said of Baldwin. "In our society, that's a 'Get out of jail and pass go pass.'"
Some loyal fans seemed to agree as they took to Twitter in the wake of Baldwin's quick hospital trip.
"Alec Baldwin is still one of my all-time favorite actors ... even though he's very 'unbalanced' in his personal life," wrote Baldwin fan Sionne Roberts. Others fearing he was ill sent well wishes, with one tweeting, "Not before you host the Oscars!"
By the time Baldwin joins Steve Martin on-stage at the Kodak Theatre on March 7, his recent spectacle may be a distant memory.
"I don't think it will affect him at all," Miller said. "This seems to be another blip on the Alec Baldwin marital/family screen."
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Poster Comment:
The reason Baldwin walks and Gibson is burned at the Hollywood stake is because Baldwin is a left-wing statist that kisses Jewish ass and is beloved because of it,and Gibson is the son of a nutcase right-wing Catholic who dared make a movie that suggested some Jews at some time in history MIGHT have been guilty of some wrong-doing. This is nothing but left-wing hypocrisy.
