George Clooney: ‘Stupid Mistakes’ Made Alec Baldwin’s Fatal Shooting Possible

Actor George Clooney says that “stupid mistakes” led to Alec Baldwin fatally shooting 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

Speaking on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Clooney said that while does not believe Alec Baldwin had “any intent” to kill Hutchins, he still could not believe that gun safety protocol was not followed on the movie set.

“Every single time I’m handed a gun on the set — every time — they hand me a gun, I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I’m pointing it to, I show it to the crew. Every single take,” Clooney said.

“You hand it back to the armorer when you’re done,” he added.

Clooney noted that the tragic death of actor Brandon Lee, with whom he was friends, on the set of The Crow led to important safety protocols.

“Part of it is because of what happened to Brandon. Everyone does it. Everyone knows,” said Clooney.  “Maybe Alec did that — hopefully he did do that. But the problem is dummies are tricky because they look like real [rounds]. They got a little tiny hole in the back [from which] somebody’s [removed] the gunpowder.”

Clooney noted that it would be “insane” for an actor to be handed a six-gun and not squeeze the trigger at the ground six times to ensure the absence of bullets.

Prior to Baldwin shooting Hutchins with a live round, assistant director David Halls handed the gun to the actor, referring to it as a “cold gun.” Clooney said he had never heard that term on a movie set.

“I’ve never heard the term ‘cold gun,'” Clooney said. “I’ve never heard that term. Literally. They’re just talking about stuff I’ve never heard of. It’s just infuriating.”

“The person that hands you the gun, the person who is responsible for the gun, is either the prop person or the armorer. Period,” he added.

Clooney hoped that the tragic incident will lead to safety protocols being followed, stopping short of the far-left suggestion that movie guns be banned on set.

“After Brandon died, it really became a very clear thing of: Open the gun. Look down the barrel. Look in the cylinder. Make sure,” Clooney said. “It’s harder with dummy bullets, I have to say, because if you stuck six dummy bullets in your hand, you would think they’re real bullets.”

“It’s a series of tragedies, but also a lot of mistakes. A lot of stupid mistakes,” he added.

Last week, a crew member of the film who held Halyna Hutchins after she was fatally shot filed a lawsuit alleging that Rust producers, including Alec Baldwin, failed to follow proper safety protocols on set.