Alec Baldwin is blaming the court system and his ex-wife Kim Basinger for last year's infamous phone message in which he berated his daughter.

The actor, who says he was horrified by the message, says it was the result of the overwhelming frustration of dealing with a bitter divorce.

The message, in which Baldwin vents his anger at his 12-year-old daughter Ireland's failure to return his phone call, said: "You have insulted me for the last time. You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being - I don't give a damn if you're 12 years old or that you're 11 years old or that you're a child or that your mother was a thoughtless pain in the ass...You are a rude, thoughtless pig."

In the book, the Departed star admits that after the message was made public, he became suicidal when the Los Angeles Court commissioner suspended his visitation rights.

Baldwin, who took home an Emmy last week is currently making the rounds promoting his new book, A Promise to Ourselves.

He won best actor in a television comedy series for his role as an egotistical broadcast executive on 30 Rock.

Baldwin prevailed over challenges from Steve Carell of The Office and Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men.

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