[quote] Halyna Hutchins’ Husband Describes Reaction To Tearful Alec Baldwin Interview: “Are We Really Supposed To Feel Bad About You, Mr. Baldwin?”
“Every holiday, Christmas, New Year’s, our anniversary, my birthday, Valentine’s Day, I mean, every holiday is difficult without her,” Matt Hutchins, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week against Rust producers and Alec Baldwin over the death of his wife Halyna Hutchins, said this morning on Today.
Speaking to Hoda Kotb, Hutchins described an early phone call with Baldwin shortly after the death of Halyna Hutchins. “I feel like to understand that moment you have to remember the shock we were in,” he said. “I spoke to Mr. Baldwin and was just looking for a way through the storm. There were a lot of emotions, for sure, on both sides.”
Hutchins said that later, after seeing Baldwin’s tearful interview on ABC News, his feelings shifted. “Watching him I just felt so angry to see him talk about her death publicly in such a detailed way and then not accepting any responsibility after he just described killing her…Hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, I just feel like, are we really supposed to feel bad about you Mr. Baldwin?”
After filing a wrongful-death lawsuit last week against Rust producers and Alec Baldwin over the death of Halyna Hutchins, her husband Matt Hutchins told Today’s Hoda Kotb that he was “so angry” at the actor for his ABC News interview, and found it absurd that the Oscar nominee finds himself “not responsible” for the death of the cinematographer.
However, even with the Hutchins estate wrongful death suit and other lawsuits already filed, no one has been arrested or charged in the fatal shooting yet as police continue to probe what actually occurred. “The investigation remains open and ongoing,” Juan Rios of the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office told Deadline.
Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live bullet in a prop gun discharged by Baldwin on Oct. 21, 2021 on the set of Rust at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Sante Fe, New Mexico. “I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in a Dec. 2 interview. The Aviator and The Marrying Man actor also told Stephanopoulos, “I have been told by people who are in the know, in terms of even inside the state, that it’s highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally.”
“The idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me,” Hutchins tells Kotb in an interview that will air tomorrow in full on Today.
“Watching him I just felt so angry,” Hutchins tells Hoda. “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.”
“But 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,” Hutchins added about the indie production which allegedly was cutting corners.
Hours after Hutchins’ estate filed a Feb. 15 lawsuit against Baldwin and the Rust producers, the latter defended in a statement to Deadline “any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false” and pointed to others who they believe are responsible for the death of Halyna Hutchins.
“He (Baldwin), Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a ‘cold gun’ – meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise,” the statement continued from team Rust.
“This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone,” concluded team Rust‘s remarks, “Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use.”
