Alec Baldwin Believes A Recent Report Exonerates Him In The “Rust” Shooting
The investigation into the fatal shooting of director of photography Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the western film Rust is still very much underway, and so far there’s been no new updates on how that’s going. We’re not anywhere closer to finding out exactly who was at fault that day, and thus closing the book on a very sad event. But, if you ask Alec Baldwin, he’ll gladly tell you how none of it was his fault, despite the fact that he was holding the loaded gun that killed Halyna. And now, if you ask Alec’s lawyer, they too will be happy to point to a recent report on the matter, and explain, “See? Not his fault! Now let’s change the subject and talk about all those babies, shall we?”
Alec’s lawyer Luke Nikas did a little guest spot on Alec’s Instagram page yesterday and posted a statement. In the notes app statement, Luke references a recent report released yesterday by New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau and claims the investigation performed by the NMOHSB is proof positive that Alec isn’t at fault. According to Luke, the report exonerates his client.
Deadline adds that the report concludes that the management of Rust was aware that firearm safety was followed on set, and that management “demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety” by failing to review what was going on or correct the situation. Alec Baldwin has long maintained that he wasn’t aware the gun he was holding was filled with live rounds, and that it was just a “cold” or prop gun. He also claims he didn’t pull the trigger, and that he was simply holding the weapon when it discharged.
Variety reports that along with releasing the details of that report, the NMOHSB slapped Rust’s production company with the maximum fine possible for a safety failure, which is $136,793. The OHSB report claims that assistant director David Halls was the one who handed the weapon to Alec Baldwin, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists first to ensure the gun wasn’t loaded with live rounds.
So a formal report states that the persons responsible for the on-set fatal shooting is Rust production members themselves. The only problem there? Alec Baldwin is listed as a producer on the film. So technically, Alec Baldwin the actor? Exonerated. Alec Baldwin the sometime film producer? Possibly fucked. But we’ll have to wait to see what a court of law decides on that matter. Alec, as well as other producers on Rust, have been named in several wrongful death lawsuits. And those haven’t gone to trial yet. But according to this recent tweet by Alec, he barely even had any responsibility as a producer to begin with.
So as of right now, Alec’s stance is that he was barely even a producer. Why do I get the feeling that Alec Baldwin is going to suddenly give an interview where he claims that when he signed on as a producer, he had a cookie crumb on his contract, and he thought it meant his job was to bring fresh fruits and veggies to set each day. At this point, it’s worth a try.
Pic: INSTARImages