Alec Baldwin blames everyone else in new lawsuit

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Alec Baldwin’s hand was on the gun when it fired, killing Halyna Hutchins.

This is, according to everything we know, an indisputable fact. The FBI has noted that the gun couldn’t have “just gone off” as Baldwin proclaimed.

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However, the 30 Rock star is far from finished trying to place blame everywhere else. Now, he’s suing just about everyone else involved in the production of the film Rush for what happened when he was holding the gun.

Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit over last year’s fatal shooting on the set of “Rust,” alleging negligence of several of the film’s crew members while seeking to “clear his name.”

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, names the western’s first assistant director, armorer, ammunitions supplier and prop master as defendants.

Baldwin’s cross-complaint follows a lawsuit filed last year by the film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell. The civil suit accused Baldwin of “playing Russian roulette” by pointing a Colt .45 revolver at the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, accidentally shooting and killing her. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the October 2021 shooting.

“More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy,” an attorney for Alec Baldwin, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, said in the complaint. “By these cross-claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold cross-defendants accountable for their misconduct.”

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Unfortunately for Baldwin, however, the truth is that if he hadn’t had his finger on the trigger, none of this would have happened. Not as it did, anyway.

He did, though, and Hutchins is dead as a result.

Now, understand that I don’t think this is just Baldwin’s fault, but there’s been no evidence shared with the public that he was just an innocent victim in this. It appears clear that he played a role, even if not the only one.

Among those Baldwin is blaming is the armorer for the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reid. However, it should be noted that the state’s workplace safety board found that Gutierrez-Reid wasn’t actually allowed to do her job correctly, which contributed to what happened.

For Baldwin to sue her knowing full well a state agency essentially absolved her doesn’t sound like someone simply trying to get to the truth. It sounds like a wealthy Hollywood A-lister seeking to punch down at someone lower down the Hollywood totem pole in an effort to absolve himself.

And he’s doing it across the board.

Look, I don’t think the responsibility lies with Baldwin alone. He wasn’t responsible for what happened with that gun before it ended up in his hands, and that includes loading a live round into that firearm.

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But at some point, he needs to step up and accept responsibility for his own mistake in pulling that trigger.

I get that he won’t do it publicly with charges pending. Doing so would be an admission of guilt before he’s ever charged with the crime and would be used as evidence in a trial. I get that and I can’t say that I blame him for staying silent for the time being.

However, he’s lashing out and blaming everyone else, which isn’t just a survival tactic to try and keep himself out of prison. This is the actions of someone who doesn’t think he bears any responsibility.

He’s acting like he’s the victim here, not Hutchins, and that’s truly disgusting.

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