After leak of voicemail rant, Baldwin explains himself

Los Angeles – As Alec Baldwin’s angry words to his daughter were being broadcast around the world, the 49-year-old actor explained himself Friday on his Web site.

“Although I have been told by numerous people not to worry too much, as all parents lose their patience with their kids, I am most saddened that this was released to the media because of what it does to a child,” he wrote. “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. You have to go through this to understand. (Although I hope you never do.) I am sorry for what happened. But I am equally sorry that a court order was violated, which had deliberately been put under seal in this case.”

A voicemail Baldwin left for his 11-year-old daughter, in which he can be heard calling her “a rude, thoughtless little pig,” was published Thursday by celebrity news site TMZ.com.

Baldwin and his ex-wife, Kim Basinger, have been engaged in bitter custody disputes over their daughter, Ireland, since the couple divorced in 2002.

Meanwhile, Baldwin’s attorney, Vicki Greene, said she filed a court order Friday “to determine how the tape got leaked and to determine whether actions should be taken against Kim Basinger, or her attorneys, or Harvey Levin (who runs TMZ.com) and anybody else associated with the leaking of the tape and the violation of the court orders to keep the proceedings closed.”

Imus’ sidekick-producer also fired for Rutgers remarks

New York – The longtime producer for Don Imus’ syndicated radio show joined his boss on the unemployment line one week after the disgraced broadcaster was booted from the airwaves for racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

Bernard McGuirk, who joined the “Imus in the Morning Show” as producer in 1987, was let go late Thursday by WFAN-AM for his role in the ugly incident, CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said Friday. CBS Inc., the parent company for WFAN, pulled Imus off the air on April 12.

McGuirk was one of Imus’ frequent on-air foils, and was involved in the now-infamous “nappy headed hos” exchange that left both without jobs. He provided much of the program’s dicier content, a great deal of it while doing over-the-top impressions of the late Cardinal John O’Connor and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Custody hearing for Smith’s baby ends without resolution

Nassau, Bahamas – Anna Nicole Smith’s mother and ex-boyfriend left a Bahamian court disappointed Friday as the latest closed hearing in the custody dispute over the late Playboy Playmate’s infant daughter ended without resolution.

Larry Birkhead, the baby’s father and Smith’s former boyfriend, said he hoped to be leaving the Bahamas “soon,” though the court set another hearing in the case for Wednesday.

All participants are prohibited by Bahamian legal rules from discussing details of the case.

“On my behalf, everything went well,” Birkhead told reporters after the hourlong hearing. “I’m moving toward starting a life with my daughter outside of the Bahamas.”

Smith’s mother, Virgie Arthur, left the courthouse in downtown Nassau without speaking to reporters. Before the session, she said simply “I’m holding on.”

Osbourne replaces Brandy as judge on ‘America’s Got Talent’

New York – Brandy is being replaced by Sharon Osbourne as a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Osbourne, the 54-year-old wife/manager of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, will make her debut May 29, when the reality competition returns for its second season, NBC announced Thursday.

“On this show, it just had to be Sharon Osbourne,” said executive producer Simon Cowell in a statement.

Osbourne will join returning judges David Hasselhoff and British media figure Piers Morgan. Jerry Springer is the new host of the $1 million-prize contest.

Brandy, 28, was involved in a Los Angeles freeway crash in December that killed a 38-year-old woman. Two wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the actress-singer.

Film-crazy India celebrates wedding of movie stars

Mumbai, India – Film-crazy India held its breath Friday as two of its biggest stars, the emerald-eyed former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, a romantic hero and son of an Indian cinema legend, celebrated their wedding.

The affair, hyped by Indian media as “the wedding of the century,” was filled with the melodrama so beloved in Bollywood, India’s flamboyant Hindi film industry: secrecy, dance routines and even a suicidal fan who claimed to be the groom’s jilted lover.

Bachchan, 31, and Rai, 33, were engaged in a ceremony in January. They have starred together in several films.

Rai, who first captured India’s attention when she was crowned Miss World in 1994, has become one of its biggest stars and one of India’s most recognized faces overseas.

Bachchan comes from a famous Bollywood movie family – his father, Amitabh, is a Bollywood legend and his mother Jaya is also a famous actor.