Alec Baldwin Accuses The Rust Lawsuits Of Ulterior Motives
Alec Baldwin thinks that the lawsuits being filed about the tragedy on the set of Rust are targeting the wrong people for the wrong reason
This article is more than 2 years old
It’s now going on five months since the tragic accident on the set of the film Rust that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. It was a terrible set of circumstances, has resulted in numerous investigations, and has had an effect on how the movie industry as a whole is beginning to approach certain stunts, especially those with firearms. The incident is also leading to a considerable number of lawsuits which could ultimately be a referendum on what actually happened that day, and what led to Hutchins’ death. Recently, Alec Baldwin spoke out about the incident and what he thinks is happening regarding the lawsuits around the Rust shooting.
According to CNN (via Deadline), Alec Baldwin was speaking at the Boulder International Film Festival and the subject of the incident on the Rust set came up as part of a talk. Baldwin seems to think the litigious nature of the situation now is shaking out has those with “deep pocket(s)” being targeted as primaries in the case while those who he believes are ultimately responsible are being relatively let off the hook. Baldwin didn’t name names in this respect but did have specific feelings about the situation. Check out part of what he had to say:
“…the people who likely seem negligent have no money and the people who have money are not negligent…All my career, without incident, I’ve relied on the safety experts there to declare the gun safe and never had a problem, and this happened…When someone, whose job is to ensure the safety of a weapon, hands someone else, whose job is to be the secondary layer of protection for safety of a weapon, and they hand you that weapon, you declare that that weapon is safe…”
On October 21, 2021, a prop gun being used by Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged what is believed to be a live round of ammunition. This struck Hutchins as well as the film’s director Joel Souza. The latter was injured, but Hutchins tragically lost her life. The film was immediately shut down and a police investigation ensued to determine how something like this could have happened on the set. As of this writing, no police charges were filed against anyone involved with the incident.
While Alec Baldwin did not name names in the above quote, there is some chance he was referring to others possibly involved in the tragedy. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was working as the armorer for the film and it was her second movie in that role. The armorer is generally responsible for the firearms and weapons on a set, meant to ensure their safety when in use for the movie. Again, Baldwin doesn’t name her here, but the implications could be that he is saying when the firearm was in his hand, the expectation is that it is safe to use. This is surely something that will come up in court if the pending lawsuits make it to a courtroom.
The family of Halyna Hutchins has filed a wrongful death suit that names a number of different parties including Alec Baldwin, assistant director Dave Halls, Gutierrez-Reed, as well as the production companies involved with the film (there appear to be many). Though there are many named in the suit, Baldwin seems to think certain parties were added because of the monetary aspect. He’s claimed his innocence throughout, saying there was no way he could have known there was impending danger in this situation. We are sure to be hearing about this incident and the lawsuits for some time. This continues to be an utter tragedy.
