Child custody proceedings between Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger took a turn for the worst recently when Basinger fired an arbitrator brought in to settle their dispute out of court. According to the New York Post, Basinger dismissed a neutral arbitrator after he began ruling against her. The firing means that the celebs will fight over the their daughter Ireland's future in a public courtroom -- a situation both stars tried avoiding since their 2002 divorce.

Basinger's camp insists that the process wasn't disrupted by the 8 Mile mom -- they say it is Baldwin who will not accept the independent evaluator's finding. Basinger's publicist told The Post, quote, "The report acknowledges that Ms. Basinger lived in an emotionally and physically abusive marriage for 10 years. Ms. Basinger has accepted this report. The only reason the case would end up in court would be if Mr. Baldwin rejects the report or continues to make false allegations against Ms. Basinger, which would therefore only cause additional distress to their daughter."

Baldwin has categorically denied ever hitting Basinger during their marriage.