Alec Baldwin Criticized for Sharing First Personal Social Media Post Since 'Rust' Charges
Earlier this month, it was announced that Alec Baldwin will face charges in the Rust set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Now, the actor is being criticized for sharing his first personal social media post since the news was revealed. Over on his Instagram page on Sunday, Baldwin shared a photo of his wife Hilaria getting her shoulders massaged by their son six-year-old son Leo.
"The old 'let me give you a back rub' ploy," Baldwin captions the image. "Potato chips to follow." The post has been met with some harsh comments from Instagram users, many of whom seem to think it was "bad timing" to share less than a week after the charges were announced. "Dude you need [to] consult your team before you post man this does not help your [case]," one person wrote. Someone else quipped, "Alec really speed running tanking his public image."
Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust — on Oct. 21, 2021 —after a prop gun that Baldwin was holding discharged. The gun was initially not believed to be loaded with live rounds. Director Joel Souza was non-fatally injured during the incident. On Jan. 19, 2023, it was announced that both Baldwin and the film's head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will be charged with involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, the charge comes with a possible 5-year prison sentence. Prosecutors will not issue any charges stemming from his shooting.
During a previous interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin claimed that he "didn't pull the trigger" on the gun, stating that he has no idea why or how it fired a live round. This claim has been backed up by the film's Assistant Director, David Halls. In a previous statement to Good Morning America, Halls's attorney Lisa Torraco said, "Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger. His finger was never in the trigger guard."
It was previously revealed that Hutchins' husband, Matthew, and the producers of Rust — including Baldwin — reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit that Matthew had filed. The settlement created an opportunity for the film's production to resume this year, with Matthew on board as a producer. At this time, there is no word on when cameras will be rolling again on Rust, but locations are currently being scouted.