Questions are still swirling about Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting.
The actor killed a woman during the filming of a movie.
And Baldwin made one move that proves he’s in deep trouble.
Alec Baldwin’s future is murky after he made a grave mistake during the filming of the western Rust.
During a rehearsal, Baldwin recklessly fired a gun at director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; he survived, but she did not.
Now Baldwin has lawyered up amid lawsuits from members of the crew.
From Fox News:
“Alec Baldwin has hired attorney Aaron S. Dyer of New York-based law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman after being targeted by multiple lawsuits for his involvement in the Rust set shooting…The news comes after Baldwin was targeted by lawsuits filed by script supervisor Mamie Mitchell and gaffer Serge Svetnoy.”
There’s still a possibility that Baldwin and other producers could be criminally charged in New Mexico for the shooting incident, but the civil suits are already coming.
Fox News continued:
“Baldwin was handed a Colt revolver by assistant director Dave Halls while rehearsing a scene for the indie-western on Oct. 21. Baldwin fired the gun, which was loaded with a live round that discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Mitchell is claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm in her lawsuit…The lawsuit claimed that Baldwin ‘intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired a loaded gun’ even though the upcoming scene ‘did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm.’”
The gun armorer on the project was apparently negligent, as several crew members had quit prior to the shooting due to multiple misfirings.
The gun armorer is in charge of gun safety on set, but she claims she was overwhelmed by having to do multiple people’s jobs due to financial constraints.
Nevertheless, Baldwin was one of the producers on the film, so he cannot escape responsibility.
Fox News added:
“The lawsuit also claimed Baldwin pointed and fired the gun at Hutchins, Joel Souza and Mitchell even though that was against protocol. Svetnoy’s lawsuit also noted that Baldwin was only supposed to have pointed the gun at the camera and not anyone else. Svetnoy claimed Baldwin ‘owed a duty’ to the gaffer and other crew members to handle the gun as he would a loaded weapon. He claimed he was hit by ‘discharge materials’ and ‘suffered injury, including severe emotional distress, as a direct and proximate result of the incident.’”
In addition to being a producer on set, Baldwin had the gun in his hand, and he broke several gun safety protocols on the production.
After the horrific incident, Baldwin also tried to shift blame away from himself.
He retweeted a New York Times article that absolved him of guilt, and deflected to increased gun control on film sets.
The safety regulations were already in place.
Baldwin simply chose to ignore them.