Alec Baldwin's voicemail rant to his 11-year-old daughter has provoked a torrent of criticism – on his own Web site.
Writes "Wendy": "Never call your daughter a pig or brainless. She will carry this in her heart forever. Words are like toothpaste; once they come out there's no putting them back where they came from."
Seconds "Kayla": "Grow up and think of that CHILD. Be a man for once. There is no way on EARTH you can justify calling your child a pig. NONE."
In the voicemail, which appeared on TMZ.com last week, Baldwin, 49, calls Ireland, his daughter with Kim Basinger, a "rude little pig" and threatens to "straighten your ass out."
His rep later said in a statement that Baldwin "acknowledges that he should have used different language in parenting his child" but that "everyone who knows him privately knows what he has been put through for the past six years."
Baldwin himself blamed his outburst – and its leak to the press – on Basinger, writing on his Web site on Friday: "I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now. ... Everyone who knows me privately knows that certain people will go to any lengths to embarrass me and to disrupt my relationship with my daughter."
Some visitors to Baldwin's site take him to task for blaming Basinger. Writes "Sandi": "Alec, even though Kim was wrong leaking your tape, you had no right leaving a message like that for your daughter. She is the innocent one in your very public and messy divorce."
But many of the messages are supportive. "Alec," writes "Kelly," "I am sorry that the public feels they have a right to judge your situation. Stay strong, love your children, take the high road and don't look down. You are a father and a man first."
Adds "Sandy": "Alec, stay strong! Until someone is put in your shoes they have no idea the pain you are going through, I had to watch it first hand with my son. It is devastating. I never used my son as a pawn. A child needs both parents. Good luck & god Bless."
However, Baldwin was not treated as sympathetically in the press. On Saturday, in an article about the actor's online expression of remorse, the The New York Post ran the headline: " 'Pig' Baldwin Oinks Up an Apology.' " And on Sunday, the New York Daily News reported that fans were turning against Baldwin because of the tirade.
Baldwin has reportedly been barred from seeing Ireland until a May 4 court date. The actor's rep, Matthew Hiltzik, told the Post that the actor will follow the judge's orders, and said: "Alec truly cares about the best interests of his daughter."
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