Lawyers for actor Alec Baldwin filed an arbitration demand on Friday arguing that his Rust film contract protects him from financial responsibility for the shooting that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death on the New Mexico set of the film last year.
The documents also make the claim that it was Hutchins herself who directed Baldwin where to aim the gun he held with which he fired the fatal shot.
Laying partial blame for the shooting on Hutchins, the filing says, “She directed Baldwin to hold the gun higher, to a point where it was directed toward her. She was looking carefully at the monitor and then at Baldwin, and then back again, as she gave these instructions.”
A 3D reconstruction animation video displays actor-producer Alec Baldwin, right, on the set of the film “Rust” next to a portrait of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Baldwin’s filing adds that by giving the instructions she gave on the set, it was clear that Hutchins also felt the gun was unloaded — or “cold.”
“In giving and following these instructions, Hutchins and Baldwin shared a core, vital belief: that the gun was ‘cold’ and contained no live rounds,” the filing says.
Baldwin’s filing added that Hutchins agreed when Baldwin asked if should pull back the hammer of the firearm, as the script called for.
Baldwin has repeatedly claimed he never pulled the trigger of the single action revolver, but now that his court filing seems to admit that he at least pulled back the hammer to the firing position, that claim seems less believable.
The filing also alleges that it was not the actor’s responsibility to check the firearm he was handed to see how it was loaded, or if it was loaded at all, and that his title as executive producer actually shields him from liability.
Last week, Baldwin complained about the lawsuits being filed against him and said that he is only being targeted because he has “deep pockets.”
But Hutchins’ husband, Matt, recently said it was “absurd” that Baldwin refuses to take any responsibility for the cinematographer’s death. He is suing Baldwin for wrongful death.
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