Alec Baldwin Claims 'Rust' Lawsuits Targeting The Wrong People

Alec Baldwin has said the wrong people are being targeted by the lawsuits concerning the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust last October.

Baldwin made the remarks on Saturday, March 5, at the Boulder International Film Festival.

The comment come after Hutchins was killed on set and film director Joel Souza was injured when a gun Baldwin was holding discharged.

Baldwin and others involved in the incident are being sued by Matthew Hutchins (Halyna's husband) and three other crew members.

Speaking of the lawsuits, Baldwin said: 'What you have is a certain group of people, litigants and whatever, on whatever side, who their attitude is, 'Well, the people who likely seem negligent have no money and the people who have money are not negligent''.

Halyna Hutchins (Alamy)

Baldwin then continued to say that throughout his career he has relied on 'safety experts' to 'declare the gun safe and never had a problem', before the incident on the set of Rust, as per Deadline.

Currently, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office are investigating how the live round of ammunition that fatally wounded Hutchins came on set.

According to lawsuits in regards to the incident, the film's armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed says she loaded the gun with what she thought were dummy bullets, as per Sky News.

Sign raising awareness of safety on film sets following Halyna Hutchins' death. (Alamy)

The gun was then given to Dave Halls, the first assistant director, who said that it was a 'cold gun' before handing the weapon to Baldwin.

Baldwin continued to say of the safety issues on set: '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.'

He then added: 'That’s how I’ve done it my whole life because you’re not allowed as an actor to declare the weapon. I mean, the joke is, you don’t want the actors doing the safety check. They can’t even make coffee, they’re so stupid.'

Baldwin also noted that the ordeal was 'surreal' and that he didn't 'even know what to say'.

EXCLUSIVE: Matt Hutchins, husband of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin on set of "Rust," is speaking out in an exclusive interview with @hodakotb.

More here: https://t.co/cIvEhK76Qv

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 23, 2022

Hutchins' family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin, the film's producers and other crew members.

Halyna's husband Matthew said in a recent interview that the idea that Baldwin wasn't responsible for his wife's death was 'absurd'.

Matthew noted how he felt 'so angry' when Baldwin gave an interview to ABC following the incident.

During the ABC interview, Baldwin said he felt sadness for Halyna's death but that he 'could not say who' was responsible for it.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677

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