Alec Baldwin: Late Rust cinematographer’s husband recalls being ‘so angry’ at actor’s comments

‘Are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr Baldwin?’ Matthew Hutchins asks

Halyna Hutchins’s husband has revealed he was “so angry” at Alec Baldwin’s refusal to “accept any responsibility” over the Rust cinematographer’s death.

Matthew Hutchins made his first public comments on the tragic shooting that left his wife Halyna, 42, dead in October last year in a new interview with the TODAY show.

The independent western film’s director of photography was killed after a gun held by Baldwin went off on the Rust set at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The movie’s director Joel D’Souza was also injured in the shooting, which sparked widespread scrutiny over gun safety protocols on Hollywood film sets.

While Baldwin has denied claims that the Rust set was “unprofessional” or “chaotic”, and reiterated that he isn’t responsible for her death, Hutchins’s family is suing the 30 Rock actor over her death, their lawyers announced on 15 February.

During Wednesday’s appearance on the TODAY show, Hutchins described Baldwin’s lack of accountability over the incident as “absurd”.

“The idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me,” Hutchins told co-anchor Hoda Kotb, in an interview that will air in full on Thursday (24 February).

In a December interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction when it went off without his pulling the trigger, adding: “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but it’s not me.”

Recalling his reaction to Baldwin’s interview, Hutchins said: “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.”

The ABC interview “almost” made it sound like Baldwin “was the victim”, Hutchins told Kotb.

“Hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it,” he continued. “I just feel – are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr Baldwin?”

The Independent has contacted Baldwin’s representatives for comment.

The Rust set in Santa Fe, New Mexico where the deadly shooting occurred (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The family’s lawsuit alleges that Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, and his co-producers showed “callous” disregard in the face of safety complaints, and their “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures” led directly to Halyna’s death.

It also names several other defendants, including producer Ryan Donnell Smith, assistant director Dave Halls and armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed has sued the film’s ammunition supplier, claiming its owner Seth Kenney gave her a cache of dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in.

She also claimed that Baldwin is partly responsible for Hutchins’s death, after the actor allegedly ignored a request to attend a crossbow safety training session. However, the actor has not been named a defendant in the lawsuit.

While the Santa Fe County’s Sheriff Office continues to investigate the shooting, no arrests have been made in connection with it yet.