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Showbiz Tonight
Alec Baldwin`s Outrageous Voice Mail; Top Five Celebrity Court Cases
Aired April 23, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Is there a connection between violence in entertainment and real life violence? I`m Brooke Anderson in New York.
SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And the outrageous Will Ferrell video, featuring a toddler with the mouth of a sailor. You`ve got to see it to believe it. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
ANDERSON: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Alec Baldwin, the outrage over his horrible phone call to his 11-year-old daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tonight, is there any excuse for Alec`s tirade? And why are so many people are rushing to defend him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Plus did his ex wife, Kim Basinger, release the tape? Tonight, the call, the controversy, as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, who`s really to blame here?
Tonight, Hollywood`s most outrageous celebrity court cases. Winona Ryder`s shop lifting trial. From Martha Stewart`s jail house poncho to Michael Jackson in pajamas, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a three-ring circus. The craziest, most over-the-top court cases ever.
Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. A.J. has the night off. Tonight, the battle over Baldwin.
ANDERSON: Yes folks, we hear you loud and clear. We cannot believe the response we`ve gotten to the story of Alec Baldwin`s raging, nasty phone call to his 11-year-old daughter caught on tape. Yes, the response has overwhelming. This is a story that has touched people from coast to coast, striking a nerve over everything from marriage to divorce, from child rearing to child raging. And tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you men and women every are taking sides, but it`s not as clear-cut as you might think.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): On NBC`s sitcom "30 Rock," Alex Baldwin`s network executive character causes a big headache for himself with an ill- advised fireworks display in midtown Manhattan. But that`s nothing compared to the real-life fireworks Baldwin is facing after celebrity website TMZ.com released an angry voice mail he left for his 11-year-old daughter Ireland after she apparently failed to pick up for a pre-arranged phone check.
BALDWIN: You are a rude, thoughtless little pick, OK? You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don`t give a damn that you`re 12 years old or 11 years old. Or that you`re a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass, who doesn`t care about what you do as far as I`m concerned.
ANDERSON: The mother in question is Baldwin`s ex-wife, Oscar winner Kim Basinger, who has physical custody of Ireland. Since their 2002 divorce, Basinger and Baldwin have waged one of Hollywood`s nastiest divorce battle ever.
BALDWIN: You`ve made me feel like (EXPLETIVE DELETED). And you`ve made me feel like a fool over and over and over again.
ANDERSON: And SHOWBIZ TrMD+BO_rMDNM_ONIGHT can tell you, in a country where divorce strikes almost half of all families, Baldwin`s voice mail rant has struck a nerve and is the talk of the airwaves. The weekend "Today Show" --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 11-year-old -- so, the story of the three little pigs is a children`s book. Who knows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me a break.
ANDERSON: "The View" --
ROSIE O`DONNELL, "THE VIEW" He is very much of a tortured father, who feels alienated from his own child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think hearing something like that from your father could be potentially the worst thing you could ever hear.
ANDERSON: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been trying to stay in his daughter`s life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that Alec`s has been through hell for the last six years. But he`s the adult and you do not do this to a child.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: The response has been huge. One of the biggest stories, frankly, I think we`ve ever done.
ANDERSON: Harvey Levin of TMZ.com, which first posted the voice mail, says this story has struck a chord.
LEVIN: There are millions of parents who connect to this tape for various reasons, you know, people who are in the middle of a bitter custody fight, and they take sides. This has really resonated.
ANDERSON: This story is getting a strong reaction from you, the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT viewers. Thousands flooded our e-mail inboxes and sounded off online. And a whopping 61 percent of you say Baldwin`s phone tirade should not cost him visitation rights with his daughter.
(on camera): Men and women, married and divorced, parents and the childless; it seems that everyone has a really strong opinion on the Alec Baldwin voice mail, and what it says about divorce and children. I thought I`d hit the streets and ask people what they think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody blows up once in a while.
ANDERSON: But to this degree, "rude, thoughtless little pig?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that was kind of -- that was a little -- that was a bit much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m a mother, and I have daughters. And I think he`s crazy. There`s no way you should talk to your children like that.
ANDERSON: Do you think he should lose custody, lose visitation rights because of this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not completely. I think that maybe he should have extensive psychotherapy and have visitation rights that are supervised. But not completely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s definitely not excusable in any way, shape, form or fashion to talk to a child, especially a minor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s an adult. He should have held his cool. I have two grandkids and I know what it`s all about.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Baldwin has apologized for the angry voice mail, saying he was pushed to the limit by what he calls Basinger`s efforts to turn their child against him. Basinger, who hasn`t publicly commented on the voice mail, is currently facing charges of violating Baldwin`s court-ordered visitation. She`s pleaded not guilty.
And millions of Americans are seeing the struggles of this broken Hollywood family as a painful situation that`s become all too common place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So who`s to blame here? Alec Baldwin for letting his temper get the best of him? Kim Basinger? There are some passionate and provocative opinions on this and we`ve got them tonight. With me tonight from Chicago is "New York Times" best selling author Brad Thor and from Los Angeles, investigative journalist Pat Lalama. Welcome to you both.
Brad, I want to begin with you, because you`re a parent of two. So I want to ask you this: you know, by all accounts, Alec Baldwin, a loving father. You know, we know he cares deeply about his child. He has apologized. Should we cut him some slack?
BRAD THOR, AUTHOR: I don`t think so. Not in this case at all. What he did was inexcusable. I don`t care what the circumstances were. This was 100 percent wrong.
ANDERSON: Pat, we all know parents aren`t perfect. Parents make mistakes. Do you think Alec is taking too much heat for this?
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I think he is taking too much heat. And I think I`ve got my own private, unofficial evidence to show you. My other half of the dog park on Saturday talking to a lawyer, a banker, a dentist, a stay-at-home mom, a great cross section. To the last one, they said, yes, it was over the top.
We all agree, he should go to anger management. But whomever had anything to do with leaking this tape and, with all due respect to TMZ, and you know I love and respect Harvey, to air it tells me that this vengeance vengeance, this anger on the other side is almost out of this world. And to me, that is equally child abuse and I stand behind that.
ANDERSON: We aren`t sure about the circumstances surrounding this --
LALAMA: We don`t know. You`re right about that.
ANDERSON: And Brad, the reason this whole thing has struck a nerve is because so many men caught in the middle of nightmare divorces can probably identify with Alec. We`ve gotten a ton of emails from our viewers saying that Kim drove him to the edge by refusing to let him see his daughter despite court orders. Do you buy that?
THOR: You know what? It does not excuse his behavior. I`m going to sound like a broken record here, but it doesn`t matter how bad things are. Alec is the adult here. And what he did was reprehensible. And alienation works both ways. Parental alienation is a terrible thing. It happens to fathers. But at the end of the day, he`s got to take the high road. And all he`s doing by leave a message like this is supporting, if Kim is doing what he says she`s doing -- all he`s doing is supporting in Ireland`s mind what he thinks Kim Basinger is doing. He`s just alienating himself further.
ANDERSON: Pat, what do you think?
LALAMA: Brooke, I just think abuse can come in all kinds of forms, including silence, including pitting -- Let`s make it clear, there`s no evidence that Kim Basinger had anything to do with this being leaked. WE can only assume. Let`s make that clear. But I`m just saying, overall, remember this: that child -- I think someone said, well, they aired it or it was made to the public because the child wanted it to be known. Well, if the child came and said, mom, I`d like to read some porn and go out with a 20-year-old, should we accept that too? I mean, she`s 11 for heavens sake.
THOR: She`s been victimized twice by this, there`s no question, by her father and her mother, if that`s who released this tape.
ANDERSON: Yes, well, it hasn`t been confirmed how the tape was released. But there is a lot of speculation that Kim Basinger may have released the tape. Brad, Pat has made it clear how she feels about that. What do you think? Is the release of this tape just as outrageous as the voice mail itself?
THOR: It is damaging. I think it`s equally damaging for the child. But at the end of the day, and Alec Baldwin -- I really have a problem with his character, because he`s got the yes, but. I shouldn`t have said that, but my wife forced me to do it. We would not be talking about this if Alec Baldwin didn`t do this. We lose our temper with our co-workers, our loved ones, and yes, with our children, but we don`t say these horrific, hurtful things that Alec Baldwin said. There`s no excuse for it. It doesn`t matter how bad the custody battle is. There`s no excuse.
ANDERSON: You bring up the custody battle and how bad it is. We know this one has been very, very bitter from the get-go. But there are always two sides to every story. Can we really take one side over the other in a situation like that, Pat?
LALAMA: No, absolutely not. Let`s make it clear. This is family law. You`re not privy to everything that happens in the courtroom. But during my time at "Celebrity Justice" I covered it extensively, as much as we can, given the limitations. I read documents. I knew stories firsthand or stories that I believed from sources. And this is one of the most ugly and contentious battles I`ve seen. That`s a fact.
And I said all along, eventually this child will suffer. And I go back to my point -- And I agree with what my colleague in Chicago said also. Excuses me, I forgot your first name for that simple moment, because I`m so riled up. But I do agree with what you`re saying. But the bottom line is this child goes to school. This child will get bickered at. She will be talked about.
You can`t tell me -- If you had to weigh, it`s both bad. But I think, because I`ve had to apologize to my kids for horrible things, bad Italian temper. I agree. I understand. At the same time --
THOR: This goes beyond bad Italian temper. Pat, I don`t think you have ever insulted your kids the way Alec Baldwin has. Let`s get something straight: this is abuse and child abuse is never OK.
(CROSS TALK)
THOR: He`s got a rage issue, it seems to me, and he needs to get it under control. This is not an isolated incident. He needs to get it under control. If he`s got something about his ex-wife, he needs to deal with it with her. He needs to be a man and a good father and say, I will not involve my daughter in all this acrimonious stuff I`ve got going on with my ex-wife.
ANDERSON: I do have to end it there. I`m sorry about this. We could go on for days. But, you know, it is unfortunate that the child is caught in the middle of this horrible mess. Brad Thor, Pat Lalama, thank you both for your insight.
Sibila, the contentious battle between Baldwin and Basinger far from over. It`s really such a shame that the daughter is being affected by it possibly. Coming up at 31 minutes past the hour, our coverage continues. Will all of this have a lasting effect on Ireland? And how much could she be harmed?
VARGAS: Also Brooke, remember when Martha Stewart went to jail, or how about when Michael Jackson showed up to court wearing his pajamas? We`re taking a look at the most outrageous star court cases ever. That`s coming up.
And speaking of outrageous, we also have this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL FERRELL, COMEDIAN: Don`t call me bitch, I`m a grown man. God, you`re mean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I was in tears when I first saw this video. It takes a lot to steal the show from Will Ferrell, as we know. But just leave it to a cursing toddler. The video everybody`s talking about, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Time now for a story that made us say, that`s ridiculous. Let`s talk about Sanjaya. He finally got the boot from "American Idol." I think it`s ridiculous that he made it as far as he did, but it seems his 15 minutes of fame, guys, nowhere near over. Get this, he was actually at the White House correspondents` dinner over the weekend.
That`s right, Sanjaya and President Bush together at last. "People Magazine" invited Sanjaya to the event and lots of people stood in line to get his autograph, including the governor of New York. Now that`s ridiculous.
ANDERSON: From the ridiculous to the outrageous and sometimes unbelievable, tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is naming the top five most outrageous celebrity court cases. It`s not unusual for Hollywood stars to get in trouble with the law. But there are just some cases we`re never going to forget. With me tonight to count us down is Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat." She`s with us tonight from the Court TV studios in New York. Hi there Ashleigh.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: Hi Brooke.
ANDERSON: All right, I want to begin the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT countdown with the fifth most outrageous celebrity court case. And that`s Winona Ryder. You`ve got a rich star busted for shop lifting. I couldn`t get over this one. This case had a little bit of everything, didn`t it?
BANFIELD: I think it did. And I think you`re not the only person who couldn`t get over the fact that she had this fabulous career and yet there she was sort of drunkenly going about her business, stuffing her bag full of expensive clothing, and then, of course, during trial, we found out there were all these drugs involved as well. There was outrage. It was just one of those media moments where you couldn`t take your eyes off someone in court who looked Polly Anna, but at the same time was behaving more like, well, shall I say Britney.
ANDERSON: Right, and nor could we take our eyes off the surveillance video that we just saw a moment ago. It was outrageous. But now I want to get to number four on our list of the most outrageous celebrity court cases ever, and that`s the Martha Stewart trial. She was accused and later convicted in the stock trade scandal. What was it that fascinated us? Not a lot of money here that she saved, but it was fascinating.
BANFIELD: I think any time you see a billionaire having to take her very expensive leather handbags into a federal courthouse to try to beat charges which are silly -- I mean, they really, quite frankly, were the sillier of the charges, because she just should have kept her mouth shut. And then, of course, seeing somebody like Martha Stewart, who`s known for baking pies -- shall I use the word Polly Anna again? Baking pies and building an empire on lovely linen sheets and pretty flowers, you know, being brought up on these very serious charges in the end.
I also think that we, unfortunately, as a country look at these people and we love to tear them down. We love to build them up big and tear them down even smaller than they were. But then we also like to come back. I think with Martha, we sure as heck saw a heck of a comeback. And I think that`s why. When you put the whole story together with the poncho, coming out of prison looking thin and svelte and fabulous, and rebuilding her career. It was all sort of a good thing.
ANDERSON: Yes, and the whole thing, the billionaire, and it started with just about 50,000 dollars. It was crazy. And then you`ve got Rosie O`Donnell, who`s got the number three spot on our list. Rosie went head- to-head with the publisher of her now defunct "Rosie Magazine." What made this case so outrageous?
BANFIELD: I hate to say this, for me, it was the flock of sea gulls hair-do. That`s what stood out to start with. And listen, I`m a huge Rosie fan. I love Rosie O`Donnell. I loved her on her TV show. I`ve loved her comedy. I think her film career`s been great. And I like her on "The View" a lot. I think she just pokes us in all the right ways, and gets us thinking and talking.
But at the same time, I think she went through a troubled time. And that trial wasn`t good for anybody. It wasn`t good for the publisher. It wasn`t good for Rosie. I think a lot of the critics said this was a dog of a case. The judge agreed, dismissed both sides, saying you shouldn`t have been in my court room. This was almost like a domestic dispute.
ANDERSON: It felt like it got personal.
BANFIELD: Yes, but again, there`s a big comeback. She went from being the queen of nice to the queen of mean to the queen of (INAUDIBLE)
ANDERSON: We love those comebacks. And speaking of, Michael Jackson, number two. He was on trial for child molestation in 2005. Every day of that trial seemed like a circus.
BANFIELD: Yes, I know, he danced on an SUV. He wore his jammies to court. He had some very unusual people who came to support him, who -- there were death threats to the media covering the case. And one reporter, Diane Diamond, had to take out a restraining order against one of the supporters of Michael Jackson, who was there every day. It was an odd, odd story. And then the things that we found out about Michael Jackson`s lifestyle and the way he behaved, all of that was very disturbing. And he was a pop icon. I grew up with him. You grew up with him. It was hard to hear this stuff.
ANDERSON: Odd is a great way to describe that case. And now very quickly the number one most outrageous celebrity court case, O.J. Simpson, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Yes, there`s no drum roll needed, is there?
ANDERSON: No. No build up needed.
BANFIELD: And you know what, I`ve got to say, Brooke, that it launched Court TV. This was sort of the first time that America was glued to a TV set, albeit for nine months. But they were glued to this case. Here you`ve got the Heisman Trophy Winner, the most handsome football player, such a celebrity, such a beloved American character on trial for one of the most horrible, horrible crimes you could even imagine. And it coined a lot of stars. We have Star Jones, Johnnie Cochran, my partner Jack Ford. All of these people, Cato Cailin (ph).
ANDERSON: And the cameras in the court room. You know, people just couldn`t get enough. We`re going to have to wrap it up there. Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat," as always, thanks so much.
BANFIELD: Nice to talk to you.
VARGAS: Brooke, the fallout continues from the Don Imus controversy. Another firing and now it`s made its way even into the presidential campaign. And the ugly words continue. We`ll also have this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I`m going to let you know how I feel about what a rude little pig you are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It`s still hard to listen to that message that Alec Baldwin left for his young daughter, 11 years old. But a lot of people are defending him? Is it ever OK to talk to your kid like that? Well, it`s a very passionate debate and we`re going to have that straight ahead. Stay with us.
VARGAS: And we were all absolutely devastated by the Virginia Tech murders and they`ve brought up a question: is there a link between real- life violence and the violence we see on TV and the movies? Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Tonight, more fallout from the Don Imus scandal. First, Imus` long-time producer, Bernard McGuirk, has been fired for his role in the now infamous racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women`s basketball team. McGuirk had joined the Imus in the Morning show as a producer in 1987.
And the whole mess has even made its way into the presidential campaign. Over the weekend, Senator Barack Obama spoke at an event of the National Action Network, a civil rights organization founded by Reverend Al Sharpton. Obama thanked Sharpton for speaking out against what Imus said. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: I appreciate Reverend Sharpton for being a voice for the voiceless and a champion for the dispossessed. And as we saw last week, he`s still on the front lines, fighting the good fight. And we`re thankful for his energy and for his willingness to challenge the conventional wisdom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: And one last Imus update. There`s a small radio station in California that`s been protesting Imus` firing by airing reruns of the show ever since he got fired. Now CBS Radio is suing that station. CBS wants a temporary restraining order and 150,000 dollar fine for each time the show runs. A hearing is set tomorrow.
ANDERSON: Sibila, it`s the voice mail that everybody is still talking about: Alec Baldwin`s nasty message to his 11-year-old daughter. Tonight, there are people defending him. Coming up at 31 minutes past the hour, we`re going to take a look at whether it`s ever OK to talk to your child like that, and why men and women seem to have very different reactions to the whole mess.
VARGAS: Also, it`s something that really got us thinking after the devastating Virginia Tech shootings. How much are TV and movies to blame for real life violence? We`ll get into that coming up.
And, on a lighter side, we also have this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FERRELL: You don`t have to raise your voice. I can give you half.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Will Ferrell upstaged by a cursing toddler. It`s a video you have to see to believe. Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Monday night is headed straight back. Stay with us.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
ANDERSON: Well, it`s been a week since the terrible, horrific Virginia Tech killings. And tonight, the debate over where - whether there`s a connection between violence on TV, in the movies and real-life violence - that debate is raging. I`m investigating that.
And Sibila, I know you sat down with the cast of "Spider-Man 3." They`ve got some really emotional thoughts on this, too, right?
VARGAS: Absolutely, Brooke. They really opened up to me, and wait until you hear what they had to say about it.
But on a lighter note, you just got to check out this really funny Will Ferrell video that`s tearing up the Web.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you`re my money bitch.
WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: They don`t call me bitch. I`m a grown man. (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: (INAUDIBLE), but should he be concerned about a two-and-a- half-year-old swearing? I`ve got that, coming up in a bit.
ANDERSON: But first tonight, the battle over Baldwin. Alec Baldwin`s over-the-top phone tirade against his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, has ignited a ferocious debate from coast to coast because it touches on so many issues that are a part of our lives: marriage and children, divorce and custody battles. When does a parent cross the line, and when is it OK to put your kid in his or her place?
But of course, like so many others, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, `Can anything excuse this voicemail,` which was leaked to TMZ.com.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: .know something, OK? I - I`m tired of playing this game with you. I`m leaving this message with you to tell you, you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don`t give a dam that you`re 12 years old or 11 years old, or that you`re a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn`t care about what you do as far as I`m concerned.
You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Here are some of the tough questions SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking because of this: who`s to blame here, Baldwin or his ex-wife Kim Basinger? Did she push him to the breaking point? And does that justify it?
If she did leak the tape, is what she did just as bad as what Baldwin said? And could this really harm their 11-year-old daughter?
With us tonight here in New York, matrimonial attorney Sy Reisman; Steve Santagati, relationship expert and author of the soon-to-be-released book, "The Manual."
And our good friend clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky.
Thank you all for being here tonight.
DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: My pleasure, Brooke.
A horrific experience. This man has devastated his daughter. She will never recover.
ANDERSON: I want to get that - to that in just a second, Dr. Judy. Great point.
But first I want to start at the beginning with you, Steve. Baldwin vs. Basinger. You know, a lot of people have said that what Alec did is unforgivable, while others say that Basinger pushed him to the age by repeatedly refusing to let him see his daughter, despite court orders.
He has apologized. Should he be forgiven?
STEVE SANTAGATI, AUTHOR, "THE MANUAL": Absolutely.
If this was just one incident - if this was just taken - like, he had just called his daughter, reprimanded him, went off the hook, and then left it at that, it would have been fine. The family would have gone on, and everything would have good.
The problem is, is that Kim, six days later, airs this thing. Kim did the reprehensible - the irreprehensible damage, if any, to Ireland. And frankly, Dr., I - I disagree with you wholeheartedly. This is not going to affect her.
KURIANSKY: Ah!
SANTAGATI: She`ll move on. She`s a resilient kid.
KURIANSKY: What?
SANTAGATI: Give me a break.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: But I do want to say that - go ahead, Dr. Judy.
KURIANSKY: You have got to be kidding.
SANTAGATI: No, I`m not kidding.
KURIANSKY: The zillions - let me tell you something. I have had so many women sit in my office decades after a parent has said the slightest thing, `You`re stupid`; `How could you be such an idiot`; `You won`t amount to something.`
SANTAGATI: If they.
KURIANSKY: They never, ever forget it, and they never recover.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: So Dr. Judy, you`re saying this could cause her mental distress.
KURIANSKY: Yes!
ANDERSON: .that she could possibly never recover from.
KURIANSKY: I don`t think she will ever forget it. And it will really affect her relationship with him forever. He`s really put himself in the doghouse about that.
Plus, she will not trust men. And when she gets married, and if she has a little girl, she will also not trust her husband - whatever - however sweet he might be, when he might push over the edge, and do something to devastate her daughter.
ANDERSON: You know what? Let me take - I want to take a listen to a little bit more of the tape. Because it is brutal, what he said.
SANTAGATI: No, it`s.
ANDERSON: .and what he did. And you know, he wasn`t just yelling at his kid; he made it personal. He called her names.
Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You better be ready for (INAUDIBLE) to meet with me. So I`m going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The guy came unglued.
And, you know, nobody is confirming whether Kim released the tape or not. There is speculation about that. And we reached out to Kim`s representatives, and the only comment we got was - quote - "the tape speaks for itself."
Sy, if Basinger`s camp did release this tape to TMZ.com, wouldn`t that be just as outrageous as the phone call itself?
SY REISMAN, MATRIMONAL ATTORNEY: Quite frankly, it would be more outrageous.
Look, everything has to be judged as in what`s in the best interests of the child. The best interests of the child is to be with mom and be with dad. Right now, Basinger has temporary custody. But she could lose that temporary custody.
Remember, there`s something called brainwashing. It - has she brainwashed this child? Put yourself in the dad`s spot - and I`m not sticking up for him at all. What he said was wrong. Clear; it`s unambiguous. It was wrong.
But let`s go further and say, `What`s in the best interests of the child?` She`s not seeing her dad, although there`s a court order that she should. She`s not around for phone calls, although there`s a court order that she should.
There`s going to be a contempt hearing in May to see if Basinger should be punished for contempt. What is everybody thinking when she hires a security guard because Baldwin`s 3,000 miles away? What is this kid going to learn from that?
I mean, it`s awful.
ANDERSON: Dr. Judy, I can tell you want to jump in here.
KURIANSKY: Well, I do agree with you that she - if she did this, she`s also endangering her child. Because this is so in the public eye now, that the child will never be able to forget it. It will be repeated over and over, as it has been already.
See, kids can forget these kinds of things if it`s just once, and then they can say, `Well, it didn`t happen.` But I said they still always recall it.
But the fact that`s it public - so I say, `Yes, the mother, if she did this, is just as much at blame because the kid is going to suffer.`
REISMAN: And look what happened.
ANDERSON: You know what? Steve - Steve, you keep shaking your head. I want to know how you can defend these words.
SANTAGATI: It`s not defending the words; it`s defending the weight of the situation, the weight of the words.
KURIANSKY: Oh, no. You`re so wrong.
SANTAGATI: Bottom line is - listen, you`re in the business of people - keeping people in therapy because that`s how you make money.
KURIANSKY: Ah!
SANTAGATI: I`m in the business of telling them.
KURIANSKY: No, you`re wrong about me.
(CROSSTALK)
SANTAGATI: Yes, you get them out - 20 years later.
(CROSSTALK)
KURIANSKY: Oh you see! You just did it!
SANTAGATI: Bottom line is.
KURIANSKY: You just did to me.
SANTAGATI: Listen - just listen.
KURIANSKY: .what Alec did to his daughter.
ANDERSON: All right. Let`s let each other talk.
All right. Steve, go ahead.
SANTAGATI: Here`s the deal - here`s the bottom line: it happened. This is - it was no big deal. And you move on. Everybody talks to their kids like that at some point in their life. If they`re outraged - and it doesn`t last.
Move on in life. People - if you make this like such a big deal for her, then she will think it. The best thing that could happen is that Alec and Kim can go on "Saturday Night Live" and do a skit and we could all laugh about it and move on.
ANDERSON: Oh, I don`t know. I don`t know if that`ll ever happen. But here`s hoping.
Sy, I want to ask you this: you know, Baldwin`s visitation rights temporary suspended. They`re all due back in court early May. You`re a matrimonial lawyer. If you were representing Alec, what`s the game plan?
REISMAN: The game plan is very, very simple. It`s a - it`s a mom who is doing harm to the child.
Look at what had - the child faced today in school. All of her friends saw the photo in the paper today. Every - all of her friends heard the tape. This is awful. There is no other word to say other than awful.
ANDERSON: Yes.
REISMAN: So if I`m trying this case, I`m trying Kim Basinger. That`s what I`m doing. And I - and I suspect that Baldwin`s attorney is going to succeed, and he`s going to get visitation rights without a doubt.
And the other thing that may happen is she`ll lose custody. That could happen.
ANDERSON: I - I want to go back to the phone call. Because if there`s one part of that voicemail that really captures the anger and what a bitter divorce and custody battle it`s been, it`s this - take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And this crap on me you pull with this (BLEEP) phone situation that you would never dream of doing to your mother. And you do it to me constantly and over and over again. I am going to get a plane, and I am going to come out there for the day and I`m going to straighten your ass out when I see you. Do you understand me? I`m going to really make sure you get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK. Dr. Judy.
KURIANSKY: Well.
ANDERSON: It would seem that something like this would really scare a child.
How.
KURIANSKY: Yes.
ANDERSON: .does Alec make this up to her?
KURIANSKY: He - I don`t think he can ever. He can say he`s sorry from forever, and she will always remember. The threats, as you said, are on top of the cursing and the name-calling as "a pig." The - the threats.
I was cringing. Everybody cringes when you hear that. And a child - an 11-year-old is frightened by those kinds of things. She`s worried for what could happen next. He could, heaven forbid, hit her after that.
ANDERSON: Let`s hope not.
KURIANSKY: And she could be worried about that.
ANDERSON: And, you know, let`s hope this all ends in the best interests of the child, if there can be one at this point.
Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Steve Santagati and Sy Resiman, thank you all for being here and for your insight. We do appreciate it.
VARGAS: Well, the Alec Baldwin-Kim Basinger battle is what we`re asking you about in tonight`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Alec Baldwin Phone Tirade: Should he be denied visitation rights with his daughter?"
Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or write us at showbiztonight@cnn.com.
ANDERSON: It`s been a week since the Virginia Tech shootings. I`m still in shock over what happened.
And tonight, I`m investigating the raging controversy over whether - whether there`s a connection with violence on TV, in the movies and real- life violence.
VARGAS: Plus, I`ll be going one-on-one with the cast of "Spider-Man 3." They`ve got some really emotional thoughts on all this.
I`ve all got this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where`s that rent?
FERRELL: You don`t have to raise your voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You pay now!
FERRELL: I can give you half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can`t live (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Yep, that`s a 2-year-old telling off Ferrell. Now I think it`s hysterical, but with all that swearing, should we be concerned. I`ve got the controversy all over the Will Ferrell Web video that everyone is talking about. That`s coming up next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3 - Brooke to desk with track-E (ph) for the E- block.
Master, roll your break. Tiffany (ph), effect black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: .music under, go 3. Stand by, Sibila. Pre-set 7. Open her mike. Dissolve L.A. Go.
VARGAS: Thanks, Charles (ph).
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. A.J. has the night off.
OK, so you might have heard about this really outrageous Will Ferrell video tearing up the Web. It`s called "The Landlord," and in it, Will Ferrell plays a bum who is late on his rent again. So his drunk, angry landlady comes a-knockin. But here, she`s only 2 years old.
Now almost our entire SHOWBIZ TONIGHT staff think it`s hysterical. But should we be concerned because this pint-sized landlord has a potty mouth?
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDETAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it says here Madonna`s reinventing herself again.
Hey, did you get that letter from the doctor yet?
FERRELL: I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did it say?
FERRELL: My dad`s gay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew it. Those blood tests don`t lie.
(KNOCKING ON THE DOOR)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who`s that?
FERRELL: That`s my landlord, Pearl (ph). I`m a little late on my rent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I`m getting out of her, man. She`s (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: No, no, no. Please, I need you to stay. (INAUDIBLE)
Hi, Pearl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where`s that rent?
FERRELL: You don`t have to raise your voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You pay now!
FERRELL: I can give you half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: Hey, don`t talk to me like that, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m tired of this crap.
FERRELL: Look, I - I thought I was clear in my e-mail that I needed a couple weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I work too hard.
FERRELL: Can I just get two more weeks?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my money!
FERRELL: You need to relax.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You (BLEEP)
FERRELL: Uh uh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my money, bitch.
FERRELL: Hey, don`t call me bitch! I`m a grown man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.
FERRELL: God, you`re mean.
(CRYING)
FERRELL: Don`t make fun of me crying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: I`m not - I`m not doing so good, Pearl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want you out next week.
FERRELL: Pearl, I`m going to pay you. I - I`m working three jobs right now. I`m working nights. I`m driving a - I`m driving a cab. I`m inside with my buddy right now just going over my resume.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m going to smack you.
FERRELL: OK, you know what? You need to relax.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my money!
FERRELL: Look, why do you need your money so fast? Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: You scare me. You`re an alcoholic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: Seriously, you are an alcoholic. Yes, you`re drunk. I knew it. You`re already drunk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not drunk.
FERRELL: Well, you know what? You`re in no - you`re in no condition to - to deal with this right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
FERRELL: You know, just take your beer and get out of her, OK? Yes, we`ll talk tomorrow. This isn`t over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) money.
FERRELL: Jesus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: OK. So the little girl`s father, who happens to be a friend of Ferrell`s, tells "People" magazine that his daughter, Pearl, does not swear off camera. She pretty much forgets everything you say to her. That`s good.
By the way, more than 3 million people have watched "The Landlord."
ANDERSON: Poor little Pearl, Sibila.
All right. Changing directions here, I just can`t shake those horrible images of the Virginia Tech massacre and the terrible, horrific shootings that have set off a raging debate - a debate over whether there really is a connection between violent TV shows, movies, videogames and real-life killings. Are people really inspired to do such awful things by what they see in the media?
I just had to investigate this startling controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): In the 2003 South Korean film "Oldboy," a man seeks revenge on those who kidnapped him and murdered his wife. He goes on a bloody rampage, wielding a hammer against a throng of his former jailers.
It`s this image that`s raising the question: did Cho Seung-Hui ever see "Oldboy," and if so, was he influenced by it?
"Newsweek" pop culture Devin Gordon thinks so.
DEVIN GORDON, POP CULTURE WRITER, "NEWSWEEK": It seems clear to me that Cho saw the movie "Oldboy" and admired it and enjoyed it a great deal.
But what it did for him was not inspire him to kill 32 people. What "Oldboy" did was maybe provide details and poses, a script to follow as he did it, because maybe he didn`t have a reference point of his own.
ANDERSON: Forensic psychologist Michael Peck, who specializes in murder-suicide cases, says films like this can influence troubled minds.
MICHAEL L. PECK, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: I don`t know exactly if it gives them the idea. I think it helps them implement whatever ideas and urges they may already have. It pushes them in the direction of - of thinking, for example, `I could achieve glory this way.` Or I could achieve, as he wanted to do, permanent immortality.
ANDERSON: We will never know for sure if it influenced Cho. But there have been cases in the past where violent films have been linked to violent acts by young people.
Olive Stone`s 1994 film "Natural Born Killers" centers on a young couple who become celebrities after a nationwide killing spree.
In 1995, 18-year-old Sara Edmondson and her boyfriend, Benjamin Darris, went on a shooting spree of their own, killing one person and paralyzing another. Edmondson told authorities that before the shootings, they had taken LSD and watched "Natural Born Killers."
Columbine killers Dylan Kleibold and Eric Harris referenced that same film in notes to each other. Eyewitnesses to their 1999 murder spree said it reminded them of "The Matrix." Dressed in black trench coats, they killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide.
GORDON: The violence is not attributable to "The Matrix." What is attributable to "The Matrix" is merely the details, and the - the imagery - the way in which they may have gone about it.
ANDERSON: Leonardo DiCaprio`s character shot up his school in a dream sequence in the 1995 film "The Basketball Diaries." Two years later, teenager Michael Carneil killed three classmates and wounded five others in Paducah, Kentucky. He later told police he had been influenced in part by the movie.
Experts believe that no single factor can be blamed for turning a troubled person into a mass killer. But they say a violent film can provide that same disturbed individuals with a script for disaster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: I`ve got more on this startling debate about Hollywood and violence. I`m going one-on-one with the cast of the hot new movie "Spider- Man 3." They really open up about this, and you won`t believe what the cast told me about the Virginia Tech killer. That`s coming up next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brooke back to Camera 2`s desk shot, next.
Master, roll your break. And Tif, effect black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Well, stars all over have been speaking out about the absolutely awful Virginia Tech killings. I asked the cast of "Spider-Man 3" whether they think there really is a connection between violent, Hollywood movies, TV and real-life violence.
And one star really shocked me with what he had to say about the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho (sic).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOBEY MAGUIRE, ACTOR: I don`t think that any kind of art form is going to be the tipping point for somebody who`s, you know, got that kind of mindset or something. I - I don`t - you know, I actually just don`t understand that myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRSTEN DUNST, ACTRESS: I don`t think it`s Hollywood responsibility to decide for a parent what - what their child sees or doesn`t see. I think that news these days - everything turns the news into distractions from other things, or - like the massacre. I mean, shouldn`t that be teaching our country another lesson to - how about ban handguns? You know what I mean?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS HADEN CHURCH, ACTOR: I think that kids, they understand there are elements of good and evil in the world. But good triumphs, and sometimes it requires whatever physical force with respect to this guy`s parents. I hope that that guy - if there`s a hell, I hope that that guy is - it kind of makes me emotional to even talk about it. I hope that guy is being tortured in hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Thomas Haden Church and I actually talked for awhile on this. He was really angry, and very emotional.
ANDERSON: Yes, sounds like it, Sibila.
All right. We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWIBZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Alec Baldwin Phone Tirade: Should he be denied visitation rights with his daughter?"
So far, 39 percent of you say, `Yes, he should be denied visitation`; 61 percent of you say, `No, he shouldn`t.`
Sandra from Florida says, "Alec may have lost his cool, but what mother would tape this and use her daughter as a pawn to discredit her father?"
Melanie from Mississippi totally disagrees: "I`m outraged at the people supporting him. I hope they strip his visitation rights. He has no respect, and has an anger problem."
Well, as part of this shocking, nasty Alec Baldwin-Kim Basinger divorce and custody battle, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow, the drop-down, drag-out, ugliest celebrity divorces ever. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards - even Eminem and Kim Mathers, twice that time - divorce wars, tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, the secrets of celebrity pre-nups. Why do some hold up and - well, some don`t. Money, marriage and pre-nups, that`s tomorrow.
And that is a wrap for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I hope you enjoyed watching it. I am Brooke Anderson in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Good night, everyone.
"GLENN BECK" is next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
END
