Everyone makes mistakes - even if he did say those things it should NOT have been released to the press. I think the wife needs to grow up. Who hasn't said something in anger that they shouldn't have? Stay out of it!

Ummmmmmm....unfortunately, too many adults simply butt out when a child is being abused. Many of us who've experienced life with an abusive parent (or more than one parent) have gone on to make it our life's purpose to be an advocate for ALL children. Nope....not gonna butt out when children are being wounded to the core and adults are sitting around talking about how it's no one's business but the parents of the child involved, and how "everyone makes mistakes and says things they don't mean". Sorry...I don't buy it.

Nope....not gonna butt out when children are being wounded to the core So, what do YOU propose to do in this situation?

What we should do is leave it alone, it's not our business. I don't think anyone should ever speak to a child that way but obviously Alec was pushed to the edge by something. My husband's ex used to always cancel visitations with his daughter at the last minute and if he got upset or angry he was the bad guy. To make judgements against someone based on one angry conversation is insane.

Everyone makes mistakes - even if he did say those things it should NOT have been released to the press. I think the wife needs to grow up. Who hasn't said something in anger that they shouldn't have? Stay out of it! ---------------------------------------------------------- Well, we're not in it. But since it was released to the press, and we've had the unfortunate experience of listening to it, it's not unreasonable that we would discuss it. I don't accept the "everyone makes mistakes" excuse. I've raised three children, and I've NEVER spoken to my children like that. Why would I? What purpose could it possibly serve? I love my children, and it's my responsibility to teach them to be functioning adults, who lead satisfying and productive lives. Our children take their cues from us - if we can't control our own behavior, how can we expect them to control theirs? Sure my kids have misbehaved, and sure I've been angry. But as the parent and the adult it's up to me to steer them in the right direction, and that can't be done by throwing tantrums. Before Mr. Baldwin can hope to be a father he needs to learn to behave like an adult. He needs to put the interests of his child over and above his selfish whims. I'm not at all surprised that his 11-year old child avoids his phone calls. If someone spoke to me like that I'd avoid their calls, too.

I agree Abby. His call was enough to terrify a child. I would also like to add that if it was the mother who released this to the public, she was not thinking much of her child either. I think they are both unfit. I feel sorry for the little girl.

I think Kim has had enough of him and perhaps if she did leak the tape to the press it was her way of proving this man has some serious issues to resolve.

I think Kim has had enough of him and perhaps if she did leak the tape to the press it was her way of proving this man has some serious issues to resolve. ======================================================== I think we can all agree that those were terrible things to say to a child but it was just one conversation (and a one sided one at that). What about all the others that they have had? Taking a private matter like that public is very vindictive and while I'm not a big fan of Alec Baldwin there are two sides to every story and I think he and Kim both have some serious issues to resolve.

If Ms. Basinger was seeking to limit contact between her daughter and Mr. Baldwin, a closed court hearing would have been an appropriate venue to air the tape. Broadcasting it to the general public only serves to further humiliate the child, and exacerbate the damage. I don't think any other conversation Alec Baldwin had with his daughter mitigates the verbal abuse evidenced in this one. It's not acceptable to talk to anybody that way, much less someone you love and someone you have a responsibility to nurture and protect.

I am appalled by the number of people excusing him. It was just one conversation, it was a conversation a parent should never have with their child. If anyone ever told my daughter he was going to "straighten her ass out" you better believe I would use any media (police, news, whatever) to stop him from EVER coming near my daughter again.

When a parent talks like that to a child, he/she has a serious mental/behavioral problem and it is not a one time "mistake". I know, both myself and my daughter have heard it before and it is all too familiar. And the typical outcome, he apoligizes, buys her a gift, then starts all over again next month...

Oh it's because Alec is sooo goood looking. He couldn't possibly be an abuser. It is sickening to hear these people take up for him. He is an abusive person. This is NOT one conversation. The fact that he went on and on in the phone conversation tells me that he is used to doing that because that's what abusers do. They keep at you like dripping water until you give in. Kim went public or whoever gave it to the public, to help free Kim from the abuse.