Thankfully, the news that Alec Baldwin had threatened and/or attempted suicide early this morning turned out to be little more than a "misunderstanding on one person's part," according to his spokesman. That "one person" appears to be his 14-year-old daughter Ireland, who called 911 after the actor and Academy Awards co-host was "unresponsive" following an argument between the two. And that "misunderstanding"? Oh, nothing... just Kim Basinger spreading a rumor that her ex-husband promised to swallow a bunch of pills. Allegedly.
Yes, with less than a month before the Oscars, we're back to Basinger vs. Baldwin in the tabloids. No sooner had an ambulance taken Baldwin to a hospital in New York just after midnight than attempted-suicide speculation hit the wires, and no sooner had Baldwin been treated and released than his own camp was attributing the rumors to the actor's ex-wife/mortal enemy Basinger. "This is another example of Kim's sickness," one Baldwin ally was quoted as saying. "Alec came back from the hospital and there were cameras outside his house at 2 a.m. Gee, I wonder how they found out?"
Of course, Baldwin had very publicly alluded to considering suicide only last year, so who knows? Let's all just take a deep breath and hope this misunderstanding was the last of its kind. Or, as his Oscar co-producer Adam Shankman might tweet, "Thx god A lecs OK we R all counti ng n jmk eraddxf."
· Alec Baldwin pal blames ex Kim Basinger [NYDN]
· 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin Hospitalized After Threatening to Take Pills [Us Weekly]