Kim Basinger shares rare comments on ex Alec Baldwin decades after tumultuous divorce
Their divorce was one of the rockiest to hit Hollywood in the 1990s, but new comments suggest they are on much better terms these days.
Kim Basinger, 71, and Alec Baldwin, 66, were married from 1993 to 2002 after meeting on the set of 1990's The Marrying Man. They share one daughter, Ireland, who was seven when they divorced and is now 29 years old and welcomed her own daughter Holland in 2023.
Their marriage came to an end in a tumultuous divorce that led to a contentious and highly publicised custody battle over their daughter.
In a new interview with Variety, Basinger spoke about where she stands with Baldwin for whom, she said, she has 'great respect'.
'Alec and I have a great relationship. I have great respect for where he is today, and his family,' she said. 'You know, we don't spend Christmases and holidays or see each other very much. But we talk.'
The LA Confidential actor continued: 'He'll pick up the phone and call me, and we have a very genuinely cordial and I think loving relationship in a lot of ways, just because we share a daughter, and I don't wish him anything but everything good.
'He's been through a lot lately,' she added, apparently referring to the death of cinematographer Halya Hutchins in 2021.
Last year, Baldwin faced an involuntary manslaughter trial after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Hutchins, who was 42 when she died.
In July, the case was dismissed with prejudice based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defence. The prosecution will not be able to file charges against Baldwin again in Hutchins' death.
Basinger went on to praise Baldwin's wife, Hilaria, stating: 'But Hilaria seems to have a great handle on that. So more power to her.'
Basinger's comments come nearly two decades after Baldwin left a notorious voicemail for Ireland, who was 12 at the time.
Originally contained in a sealed file from the former couple's court battle, the audio – in which he called Ireland a 'rude, thoughtless little pig' for not answering his call at a prearranged time – was leaked online and went viral.
In a statement, the 30 Rock star apologised, writing: '"I'm sorry, as everyone who knows me is aware, for losing my temper with my child.
'I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now."
Ireland joked about the infamous voicemail at her father's roast on Comedy Central in 2019, quipping on stage: "It's good to be here. I almost didn't even know about it because I haven't checked my voicemails from my dad for the last 12 years."
Baldwin's wife, Hilaria, faced her own controversy back in 2020 after she was accused of faking her Spanish heritage, prompting her to later confirm that she was, in fact, born in Boston under the name Hillary Hayward-Thomas. She spent a lot of her childhood in Spain, where her family still lives.
This month, the 41-year-old yoga instructor hit back at the criticism she has faced for her Spanish accent during the season premiere of her and Alec's new show The Baldwins.
'I love English, I also love Spanish, and when I mix the two it doesn't make me inauthentic, and when I mix the two, that makes me normal,' she said. 'I'd be lying if I said [the controversy] didn't make me sad and it didn't hurt and it didn't put me in dark places.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
38 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rathfriland literary festival celebrates Brontës' County Down link
The first literary festival to take place in Rathfriland will this weekend celebrate the Brontë family's connection to the Literary Festival will feature authors, poets and music in celebration of the area's contributions to the arts, both past and famous sisters' father was a clergyman in nearby Drumballyroney before moving to Ada Elliot told BBC News NI he had been "perhaps been overlooked" in the telling of the Brontë family story. 'Rathfriland is a spectacular area' Patrick Brontë was born Patrick Brunty in County Down in March 1777 - St Patrick's Day - explaining his first name - and changed his surname when he moved to England. Three of his children - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - became authors, with Charlotte writing Jane Eyre and Emily writing Wuthering Heights - both gothic romances set in the north of England, with strong psychological components. Anne Brontë wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which explores themes of social duty and the place of women in the Victorian world."Although the girls are not part of Rathfriland he (Patrick) has a long history here," festival organiser Ada Elliott told BBC Radio Ulster's Your Place and Mine programme."Rathfriland is a spectacular area. We're very proud of it and that's why we want to celebrate it." Historians through the years have speculated on whether Patrick Brontë's Irish roots might have influenced his daughter's writing, and even whether they might have had Irish Down celebrates those links. A signposted Brontë interpretive trail runs for 10 miles from an interpretive centre around Rathfriland and its surrounds, allowing visitors to drive through the area and imagine how the windswept Mournes might have influenced the father of girls whose writing was mystical, passionate and local historian Uel Wright believes more could be done."If you come here you cannot fail to see Brontë signs everywhere," he told BBC News NI. "Roads, homeland, library, nursery, steakhouse - all Brontë." Despite the wave of enthusiasm that led to those celebrations in the 1990s, the stone cottage where Patrick Brontë was born lies in ruins. Mr Wright hopes public money can be used to restore it and celebrate the link."My theory is that unless there's another generation of interest and enthusiasm to keep the Irish Brontë heritage alive, we're going to lose something very important." Mr Wright's great-great-uncle William Wright wrote a book on the Brontës in Wright believes those stories were based in oral history, in which his ancestor had a great interest, and he will examine them at a talk on Sunday in the schoolhouse where Patrick Brontë taught. "The whole Irish part of the story has gone out of fashion but with the upsurge of interest in oral history let's say - this is what we have in Ireland," he says."Let's celebrate it."Later on Sunday author Martina Devlin, who has written a novel based on Charlotte Brontë's honeymoon in County Offaly, will speak in the original church where he preached before leaving Ireland in 1802. The Rath Literary Festival started on Friday and runs until Sunday. It has been organised by the Rathfriland Women's Institute, Rathfriland Regeneration and Hilltown Community Association and will feature music and a one-woman show imagining the sisters in the modern day, by Pauline will read poems inspired by 19th Century women caught up in the criminal justice and mental health systems, and a walking tour will tell the stories of famous Rathfriland residents down the years. The festival was the brainchild of Margot Groves, who said: "We are delighted to be bringing such a wealth of talent to Rathfriland. There is something for everyone to enjoy no matter which genre they prefer." And did the Brontë sisters have Irish accents?"It wouldn't be surprising," says Uel Wright."Patrick never made great pretensions with his accent."I don't suppose we'll ever really know but it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility."
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Police arrest 300 people in major crackdown on illegal working in Scotland
Officers have been swooping on businesses across the country in a bid to tackle those abusing the UK immigration system. Over 300 people have been arrested in Scotland as part of an operation to disable illegal working in the UK. Officers have been swooping on businesses across the country in a bid to tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people. A particular focus has been on cracking down on employers facilitating illegal working - often subjecting migrants to squalid conditions and illegal working hours below minimum wage. Restaurants, nail bars and construction sites have been among the thousands of businesses targeted. Since July 2024, 469 visits resulted in 309 arrests - marking a 63% and 68% rise respectively to the previous year. Last month, a raid in Glasgow saw six arrested after immigration enforcement officers undertook visits to businesses across the city. Four men and two women were arrested for having no right to work in the UK and overstaying their visas. The individuals were of Indian, Iraqi, Colombian, Spanish and Portuguese nationalities. Businesses to be targeted in the sting included Malaga Tapas West End, Malaga Tapas Bearsden, The Malletsheugh, The Marmaris and Lamegos. The action forms part of a nationwide intensification which has seen illegal working visits increase by 48% and arrests spike by 51% across the UK. It comes alongside a ramp-up of operational activity to restore control of the immigration system, including the return of nearly 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ' Illegal working simply will not be tolerated under this government. 'That's why we are intensifying our enforcement activity to target illegal workers and unscrupulous employers who undermine our border security. 'Under our Plan for Change, we are finally restoring order to our immigration system and ensuring the rules are respected and enforced.' Lynne Davidson, HM Inspector, Scotland ICE Team, said: 'There is no excuse for ignoring employment and immigration rules and those who do should be in no doubt that they will face the full consequences. 'Businesses have a legal requirement to carry out right to work checks on employees and we will continue to pursue unscrupulous employers and those who break immigration laws.' Ramping up illegal working enforcement activity forms a key part of the Home Office's drive to restore order to the immigration system under the UK Government 's Plan for Change. In many cases, individuals travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK, when in reality they often end up facing poor pay, inhumane working hours and squalid living conditions The UK Government is also introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working by extending Right to Work checks on those hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Father Ted and trans rights critic Graham Linehan pleads not guilty to harassing and smashing phone belonging to a transgender woman
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has pleaded not guilty to harassing a transgender woman and damaging her phone. The Irish comedy writer, 56, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today to deny the charges of harassing Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging her mobile in October. The Bafta-winning writer, who also came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, has become a vocal critic of the trans rights movement in recent years. Linehan, who created Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews, said in a post on X in April that the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London on October 19. Court documents show Linehan is charged with harassing the alleged victim by posting abusive comments about her on social media between October 11 and October 27, and damaging her phone to the value of £369 on the day of the conference. The 56-year-old, who once dubbed himself 'the most hated man on the internet', told how jobs 'fell away' when he became embroiled in the transgender debate. He was banned in 2020 from Twitter after writing 'Men aren't women tho' before later being reinstated by X founder Elon Musk. A long-awaited Father Ted musical was then axed in 2022 because of the 56-year-old's controversial political opinions. When two venues cancelled his 2023 Edinburgh Fringe shows, the now-divorced Linehan opted to perform his set outside the Scottish Parliament. The 56-year-old sat in seats in front of the dock wearing glasses, a white shirt, grey suit jacket and grey jeans, and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to deny the charges. Some supporters of the defendant were turned away from the court because of a shortage of seats. Deputy District Judge Louise Balmain told Linehan his trial would take place on September 4 this year at the same court. He was freed on bail with the condition not to contact the complainant directly or indirectly. It comes as Linehan last month praised the Supreme Court's decision to confirm that the word woman is based on biological sex, meaning trans women are legally not women. Linehan said trans women should be excluded from women's spaces as they were not women - a view that has now been backed up by the Supreme Court. But although he hailed the Supreme Court decision, he said the war on woke has only just begun. Speaking to MailOnline, Linehan described the moment he realised the judge had ruled in favour of biology - and revealed his hopes for his own comedy comeback. He said: 'I was in the courtroom. The judge said we had to respect the court and not have any reaction. 'When we heard it, you could feel the crackle go around the room. 'The moment the judge left, it just sunk in that we won after 10 years of fighting this nonsense. It's good news but this is only one issue in a lot of woke issues. 'The big problem we have is with TV commissioners. The artists are still out there but they have to get past these people who don't really care about art. They care about imposing their beliefs on people. 'If you look back at the 90s with Britpop, British art was famous round all over the world and there was a real sense of excitement. 'But over the last 10 years there's been a dearth of notable stuff. Because these people have tied their hands and feet together. 'It's all very safe - almost trying not to get noticed. 'If you can't say that reality is real, then you can't do jokes about reality. 'That's what all artists do. If you deny the truth of the exterior world, they can't do that. 'But I don't think we will forever be able to stop funny people being funny. People will get sick of it. 'There's going to be a fightback [against wokeness]. Young people are sick of the rules. I think it will naturally fade away and we will come back to freedom of speech.'
