Alec Baldwin Responds to Dr. Phil's Offer of Help

Alec Baldwin Responds to Dr. Phil's Offer of Help

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- When Dr. Phil McGraw appeared this past Tuesday on LARRY KING LIVE to weigh in on the psychological aspects of the Alec Baldwin-Kim Basinger marital dispute, following the leak of a voice mail tirade Baldwin had left for his 11-year-old daughter, McGraw told King that he would be willing to sit down with the couple and their daughter Ireland "to resolve this situation." But Dr. Phil added: "Not in front of cameras, not on my show, our show or anybody else's show, but behind closed doors."

Apparently Alec Baldwin was one of the million viewers who watched and heard what McGraw offered, because this morning, he phoned Dr. Phil for a far-reaching, intense conversation about how he feels about his privacy being violated, how he feels about his daughter, and how he intends to correct course in the volatile proceedings that have been ongoing for 5 years between Baldwin and his ex-wife, Oscar winning actress Kim Basinger -- catching their young daughter Ireland squarely in the middle.

McGraw, who also reached out privately to Ms. Basinger, revealed today to ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT co-anchor Mark Steines that the actor called him on his cell in response to Dr. Phil's offer to talk him, his wife and daughter through this: "I had a private conversation with Alec. He was watching when I addressed these issues on LARRY KING LIVE and was heartened by the offer because his number-one priority is to create peace and tranquility in his daughter's life. The offer to get that done from somebody who gets it, meant a lot to him. Some things we talked about in confidence, but some things he has allowed me to share."

According to Dr. Phil, Baldwin insisted that "without reservation he recognized the inappropriate nature of his comments to his daughter, and using her as the misguided target for his frustrations. One of his fears is that people, including the court, would have the misconception that this characterizes his persona as a father. It was out-of-character for him to do what he did."

But Baldwin wanted to make one thing perfectly clear to Dr. Phil, which he permitted him to share. "He told me he is completely and totally committed to continuing his fight to have access to a full and healthy ongoing relationship with his daughter." McGraw says Baldwin told him he was not trying to fix a broken relationship with his daughter because he doesn't have a broken relationship.

Baldwin also revealed that while he would like the freedom to focus on his daughter, that his starring role in NBC's comedy "30 Rock" is inconsistent with that desire, but he did tell Dr. Phil that he intended to honor his contract.

McGraw hastens to add that "there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye, but in confidence, I cannot share these things." But McGraw did say that Baldwin vowed to him that he "was undaunted [by the release of the voice mail] and he was going to fight this till his last breath."

Source: Dr. Phil

CONTACT: Theresa Corigliano, V.P., Media Relations, +1-323-956-3357,
theresa.corigliano@cbsparamount.com, or Louis DiCenzo, Director, Media
Relations, +1-323-956-3405, louis.dicenzo@cbsparamount.com, both for Dr. Phil

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