Former President Donald Trump baselessly claimed without any evidence that Alec Baldwin intentionally shot Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Trump called Baldwin, a frequent critic of Trump’s policies and the actor who played him on Saturday Night Live, a “troubled guy” during an appearance on conservative commentator Chris Stigall’s podcast. On Oct. 21, Baldwin fired a gun he was told was safe to use as a prop, but it was actually loaded. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in an affidavit that Baldwin and assistant director Dave Halls, who handed Baldwin the weapon, did not know the gun was loaded.
“In my opinion, he had something to do with it. But if nothing else, how do you take a gun, whether it’s loaded or not loaded, how do you take a gun, point it at somebody that’s not even in the movie, and just point it at this person and pull the trigger, and now she’s dead,” Trump told Stigall, reports The Wrap. He then called Baldwin a “sick guy.”
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“Even if it was loaded, and, you know, that’s a weird thing, maybe he loaded it,” Trump, whose only experiences in moviemaking include cameos he made, continued. “If they handed me a gun, I would never point it at somebody and shoot it.” Trump shared more baseless conspiracy theories before Stigall ended the interview. “He’s a troubled guy. There’s something wrong with him. I’ve watched him for years. He gets into fistfights with reporters… I mean, everything he does, he’s a volatile guy. He’s a nutjob,” the former president said of Baldwin.
Days after the shooting last month, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in an affidavit that Halls called out “cold gun” before he handed the weapon to Bladwin, meaning that the weapon meant it did not have any live rounds in the chamber and was safe to use. However, when Baldwin pulled the trigger, the gun discharged a projectile that struck Rust director Joel Souza in the shoulder and Hutchins in the chest. Hutchins later died at a nearby hospital. Detective Joel Cano wrote that Halls also did not know there were live rounds in the gun.
On the day after the shooting, Baldwin offered his condolences to Hutchins’ family in a statement on Twitter. He made his first on-camera on Oct. 30, speaking to reporters in Manchester, Vermont. He said he doubted filming would ever resume on Rust and called the tragedy a “one-in-a-trillion event.” Meanwhile, reports questioning the safety measures taken during the production have arisen.
On Wednesday, Jason Bowles, an attorney for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, made a wildly speculative claim that there was “sabotage” on the set by “disgruntled” employees. There is no evidence to suggest that is the case, and some crew members have already denounced that claim. Baldwin also recently posted a message from costume designer Terese Magpale Davis, calling allegations that there were unsafe conditions onset “bulls—.”
