Alec Baldwin pre-taped a segment for The View today and said he asked NBC to let him out of his 30 Rock contract so he could devote time to the issue of "parental alienation," but the network refused. "If I never acted again I couldn't care less," Baldwin said in the appearance, scheduled to air Friday, and added that he also wanted to quit to prevent the sitcom and people who work from being "hurt by the situation." Barbara Walters asked the actor about the angry voice mail he left for his daughter. "You didn't mean to say it to your child?" asked Walters, to which Baldwin replied, "Well, there's nothing wrong with being frustrated or angry about something. It's the way you do it and as people often do in this world I took it out on the wrong person because I'm unable, under the current dynamic, to address the other person... I realize that was wrong." Walters asked, "You said it to your daughter but you meant it for your ex-wife?" Baldwin agreed: "Well, I think that goes without saying, quite frankly." When asked whether he had spoken to his daughter Ireland since the incident, Baldwin did not comment, citing "ongoing procedures and so forth." The Departed actor has a book coming out about divorce litigation, and said he plans to take "three years or five years, it doesn't matter" to focus on the problem of divorce and parent alienation. A source close to Baldwin confirms he will fulfill his obligation to 30 Rock and NBC.
