Baldwin Interview Gets Even Worse After His Claim He Didn’t Pull Trigger – Opinion

On Wednesday, we reported on the early clip that was released from the interview that Alec Baldwin did with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. In that clip, Baldwin surprisingly claimed that he didn’t pull the trigger during the shooting on the “Rust” movie set that resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza.

While I wouldn’t trust anything Baldwin has to say, I did note that there were prior reports about guns accidentally discharging on the set, including in an incident about a week before the shooting involving Baldwin’s body double.

The rest of the interview is now available and contains some very interesting points.

While we previously reported how the script supervisor is claiming that Baldwin did fire the gun, the lawyer for the assistant director Dave Halls is claiming that Halls was watching and didn’t see Baldwin pull the trigger.

Baldwin’s interview with the media, while it seems like a desperate attempt to get over all of these issues, is not a good legal move. This is especially true when there are criminal investigations underway and civil lawsuits pending. If he was trying to help himself in the eyes of the public, I’m not sure that came off well either.

Baldwin denied being the victim, however he appeared to be during the interview.

Indeed, he even claimed he was pointing the gun at the cinematographer who was killed — Halyna Hutchins — because she told him to, saying that he only pointed the gun where she said and that they both believed the gun to be empty.

He said that he never had checked the gun. Baldwin said that he was turning the gun in her direction. “I let go of the hammer of the gun,” Baldwin said. “And the gun goes off.” Why did he have the hammer back at all? This could be in line with the theory of Dennis Santiago, my colleague about the firing. But that doesn’t help Baldwin, since it’s still his actions that were involved.

Then he claimed that he didn’t even realize that Hutchins had been shot until about 45 minutes later, when he was at the police station and they told him what had happened. He said he thought, “Did she faint?” or was she perhaps hit by a dummy round. He says he doesn’t understand she was hit by a live round until much later when the police tell him.

This is absurd. How does he not know that she’s shot? Mitchell, Mitchell, and others knew that the gun had gone off. It is possible to hear Mitchell calling 911.

Two people were shot to death, according to everyone who was present on the call.

He said he assumed the gun was empty, making it clear that he hadn’t checked the gun himself. He blasted back at people who criticized him — like George Clooney who had said that you have to check the gun every time.

“If your protocol is you’re checking the gun every time, well good for you,” Baldwin said after Stephanopoulos brought up how actor George Clooney said he checks the gun himself while on-set.

“I probably handled weapons as much as any other actors in films,” he added.

It is possible to make the same mistake over and over again. It may eventually catch up with you as it did the day before.

Stephanopoulos asked what is the actor’s responsibility in such a situation then?

Baldwin claimed that it was doing what an armorer, or proper person instructed him to.

Baldwin then said he doesn’t feel responsible for the death of Hutchins.

“Someone is responsible for what happened,” Baldwin said. “It’s not me.”

“Honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might have killed myself,” he said. “If I thought I was responsible, and I don’t say that lightly.”

At the end of the interview, Baldwin thinks back, “What could I have done?”

The actor said this is the “worst thing” that has ever happened to him.

Baldwin, despite his desire to appear as the victim, isn’t. He’s not that good an actor. This is a strange response. Normal people feel guilty if they are holding the gun. Plus, it’s also his movie and he’s a producer. However, he appears to have gone to great lengths to avoid any type of responsibility.

Baldwin said he was not aware of any safety issues, “In my opinion no, I did not observe any safety or security issues at all at the time I was there,” he said. Baldwin mentioned that a cameraman had complained about safety concerns. Baldwin says he was not told that hotel rooms were unsatisfying.

“I am a purely creative producer. My authorities as a producer are casting and script,” he said, adding that he wasn’t involved in budget discussions.

He said he’s been told it’s unlikely he will be charged with anything. That certainly hasn’t been announced by the police, since they are still looking into it. So again, this seems like a deflection that’s all about him.

 

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