On an October day last year, a bullet from a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while they worked on a New Mexico movie set. She died soon after.
Baldwin claims that he never pulled the trigger. Hutchins’ widower, Matt Hutchins, told Today he thinks that claim is “absurd.”
“The idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me,” he said in an interview with Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb airing in full Thursday.
During a December interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said he had “no idea” how a live bullet ended up in the gun on the set of “Rust,” and indie Western that the actor was also producing. He also claimed he “didn’t pull the trigger” in that interview.
“Watching him I just felt so angry,” Matt Hutchins told Kotb. “I was just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her.”
Baldwin told ABC News that Halyna Hutchins asked him to point the prop gun off camera and toward her arm just before it fired. He broke down in tears at times.
“Almost sounds like he was the victim. And hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it,” her widower said. “I just feel — are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr. Baldwin?”
Baldwin also posted a two-part letter signed by more than two dozen members of the “Rust” cast and crew on his Instagram page disputing claims the film set was “unprofessional” or “chaotic.”
In addition to killing 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins – who succumbed to a torso injury she sustained on the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe while in an Albuquerque hospital on Oct. 21 – the bullet struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. Today said Souza was recovering from his injuries as of Thursday.
Now, Matt Hutchins is a single father to Andros, the nine-year-old son he shared with Ukraine-born Halyna. The Hutchins family Feb. 15 filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and others involved with the film alleging that “reckless” behavior and cutting costs led to his wife’s death.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who served as the film’s armorer and Dave Halls, an assistant director on the movie, have also been named in the Hutchins’ suit.
“Gun safety was not the only problem on that set. There were a number of industry standards that were not practiced and there’s multiple responsible parties,” Matt Hutchins said.
Investigations into the incident have shed light on issues related to the film’s prop department.
Three other crew members from “Rust” have filed lawsuits of their own: Mamie Mitchell, the script supervisor; Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer; and Cherlyn Schaefer, the key medic.
A Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the incident is ongoing. As of this week, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with the shooting.
“In the end, justice won’t bring Halyna back but maybe the memory of her can help keep people safe and prevent something like this from ever happening again,” said Matt Hutchins, who called his late wife’s death “totally preventable.”
Today reached out to Baldwin’s representatives and Rust Movie Productions LLC for comment.
According to the New York Post, the actor and his family recently moved from New York to Vermont.
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