Alec Baldwin faced accusations of losing control of his emotions on set, putting others in danger, and altering his story following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021. Prosecutors filed court documents claiming Baldwin frequently screamed and cursed at himself and crew members, displaying a lack of emotional control and concern for those around him. Baldwin, indicted on a manslaughter charge in January, pleaded not guilty. The court filing rebutted Baldwin’s team’s request to dismiss the charge, denouncing it as a false and misleading representation of the facts.
Prosecutors alleged that Baldwin, the lead producer of “Rust,” had hired a young and inexperienced armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was ill-prepared to manage the film’s guns. Despite crew members noticing Gutierrez-Reed’s lack of experience, Baldwin, the most seasoned member of the team, failed to recognize this. The filing also accused Baldwin of arriving on set one week after filming began, missing initial firearms training given to other actors. During a separate training session, Baldwin was reportedly inattentive, on the phone with his family, or making videos of himself with guns.
During the preparation for a scene where Baldwin was supposed to slowly draw his gun, not fire it, prosecutors claimed that Baldwin disregarded director Joel Souza’s instructions. Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that it had been declared safe by the assistant director. However, prosecutors argued that Baldwin provided conflicting accounts of the events, including whether he pulled the trigger and followed Gutierrez-Reed or Souza’s directions. The filing highlighted Baldwin’s changing narratives in discussions with law enforcement and the media.
In opposing Baldwin’s attempts to dismiss the charge, prosecutors raised issues concerning information shared with NBC News and refuted the actor’s claims of unfair treatment. Gutierrez-Reed, found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a trial held in March, was acquitted of tampering with evidence. She faces sentencing and could be sentenced to up to 18 months in a state prison. The court documents filed in response to Baldwin’s motion to dismiss portrayed a contentious and complex legal battle surrounding the circumstances of Hutchins’ death and the actor’s involvement in the events leading up to the tragedy. The case has revealed layers of negligence, miscommunication, and lack of oversight that contributed to the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust.”
