Actor Alec Baldwin has posted an apology online, explaining that his leaked answer machine rant was the result of being "driven to the edge" by his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger. The 30 Rock star was reported to be taking legal action on Saturday to find out who was responsibly for the leaked three-minute recording to Tmz.com, in which he verbally chastised his 11-year-old daughter Ireland, and called Basinger "a thoughtless pain in the a*s." But in a posting on his official website, Baldwin blames the L.A. Confidential actress for "alienating" him from his parenting duties, which propelled him to lose his temper. He says, "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. 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... 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."

Actor Eric Bana has emerged unscathed after crashing his sports car during a rally race in his native Australia on Saturday. The Munich star was competing in the Targa Tasmania rally when he miscalculated a tight bend, sending him colliding into trees in his restored 1973 Ford XB Coupe, which was badly damaged by the accident. He says, "We had been having a great day until then... But I misjudged a tight left-hander and we went in a little too fast - the car under-steered off the road and got onto the gravel and we went into a couple of trees at a fairly low speed. The car is a little battered on the driver's side which is a real shame, as many hours had been spent reshaping its original panels to get it just right. It's a real shame, but that's motor racing." Bana's co-driver Tony Ramunno also emerged uninjured.

Britney Spears' father has criticized the troubled pop princess' decision to fire her longtime manager Larry Rudolph, after he forced her to go into rehab. Rudolph was fired last week, reportedly because of his intervention after a difficult start to the year, during which Spears partied every night for a month and then shaved her head. Jamie Spears claims Rudolph was chosen by the singer's family to encourage her to seek help at Malibu, California's Promises Clinic in February. He tells PageSix.com, "When Larry Rudolph talked Britney into going into rehab, he was doing what her mother, father and team of professionals with over 100 years of experience knew needed to be done. She was out of control. Larry was the one chosen by the team to roll up his sleeves and deliver the message, to help save her life. The Spears family would like to publicly apologize to Larry for our daughter's statements about him over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, she blames him and her family for where she is at today with her kids and career. Larry has always been there for Britney. For this, we will forever be grateful to him." Spears, in response, issued the following statement, "I am praying for my father. We have never had a good relationship. It's sad that all the men that have been in my life do not know how to accept a real woman's love. I am concentrating on my work and my life right now." A friends tells PageSix Britney was embarrassed to be sent to rehab when she was merely suffering post-partum depression: "(She) had no drugs in her system when she was admitted to Promises - they (tested her) and there was nothing. She was embarrassed she had to go in there when she knew she was suffering from postpartum depression, not a drug or alcohol problem."

French actor, singer and dancer Jean-Pierre Cassel has died following a long illness. He was 74. The star, whose talent was discovered by Gene Kelly, died at his home in Paris yesterday. The father of actor Vincent Cassel and father-in-law of Italian actress Monica Bellucci will be best remembered for his role in late 1950s/ early 1960s comedies directed by Phillippe De Broca - but he also starred in English-language films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Murder on the Orient Express and the Three Musketeers films, as well as the Oscar-winning film The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie . Cassel is survived by his three children, actors Vincent and Cécile and rapper Matthias.

Movie star Jon Voight has revealed he still hasn't had any contact with his daughter Angelina Jolie or her four children - after she cut him out of her life for insinuating the actress was unbalanced. Voight sobbed on TV and publicly revealed Jolie was suffering from "severe emotional problems" during an interview in 2002. He has been estranged from his daughter ever since. Defending her decision to keep Voight out of her life and away from her family, the actress recently said, "He said some very ugly things to me about what he thought I was like as a person and how I was conducting my life. Even though he is related to me, I don't have to listen to what he says. I don't have to care. And I don't have to have him in my life." And now Coming Home Oscar winner Voight has decided that silence is the best way to endear him to his daughter, so he won't be making any more public attacks on her character. He tells RadarOnline.com, "I haven't been in touch with the kids and I would love to be spending time with them, that's all. I have nothing to say, people want to make news out of everything. It's just a cruel slap at somebody and it becomes a part of our mythology, we can't correct it. I don't want to bring attention to it again. It always hurts me when things are brought back to the fore that are distorted."

Iconic items belonging to U2 pair The Edge and Bono helped fetch $2.4 million on Saturday at an auction to benefit musicians who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. The Edge's beloved Gibson Les Paul guitar sold for $240,000, while Bono's sunglasses fetched $20,000 at New York's Hard Rock Cafe for Music Rising - a charity fund set up by The Edge after the 2005 natural disaster. Also sold belonging to the pair included The Edge's 1958 Gibson archtop guitar, which sold for $105,000, and Bono's autographed Irish Falcon Gretsch Guitar, which went for $180,000. The Edge says, "I have to say that it is a strange feeling to see some of your stuff up here." Other musical items sold were Jimi Hendrix'S 1966 Red Fender Mustang guitar, Bill Clinton's saxophone and a pair of John Lennon's round sunglasses.

Scarlett Johansson put her title as one of the world's sexiest women at risk on Saturday when she appeared as an ugly, balding alien living in a comedienne's stomach on TV. The actress was hosting satirical show Saturday Night Live when she dressed down to play a 'quatto' who had taken over cast regular Maya Rudolph's stomach in one sketch. She ended the hilarious skit by tongue kissing a fellow quatto, played by comedian Andy Samberg, while human guests at a party threw up. Johansson further showed off her comedy skills on the show by playing Donald Trump's socialite daughter Ivanka Trump, a bratty socialite on the hunt for a trampy prom dress and the daughter of a New York marble column salesman.

American Idol judge Paula Abdul reportedly threw a "diva-like" tantrum while boarding an airplane recently, telling fellow passengers she was "too famous" to wait in line. Abdul was boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Burbank, California, when she allegedly demanded to be given special treatment and board the aircraft first. Eyewitnesses claim the star pushed her way to the front of a line of waiting passengers as one disgruntled commuter shouted, "You're no Sanjaya (American Idol contestant popular for his lack of talent)! You have to board like everyone else." A source tells The Scoop, "She pulled a major diva trip. The other passengers were not amused. She asked to be let on the plane and seated first." Abdul's spokesman has refused to comment.

Oscar-winning movie director Oliver Stone will make a political television commercial demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The World Trade Center filmmaker - who served as a private in the Vietnam War - will film American service personnel for the forthcoming advertisement, supported by the MoveOn and VoteVets organizations. Stone says, "America needs to listen to our servicemen and women. We have leaders in Washington who say they're 'supporting our troops' - but the people who suffer most from their policies are the troops themselves," said Stone in a statement.

The Simple Life star Paris Hilton is rumored to be romancing British singer James Blunt, after the pair were spotted smooching in a Los Angeles nightclub. The heiress, who was recently reported to be dating Depserate Housewives hunk Josh Henderson, partied with Blunt and her sister Nicky Hilton at LA hotspot Teddies on Wednesday night. According to PageSix, the pair "danced and held hands" before kissing. But a spokesperson for the singer - who recently split from supermodel Petra Nemcova - dismissed the reports, saying, "This sounds like gossip to me!"