Alec Baldwin sues ‘Rust’ crew for negligence to “clear his name”

Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against Rust crew members for negligence in an attempt to “clear his name” after the fatal shooting on set.

On October 21 last year, Baldwin discharged a live round in a prop gun during a scene rehearsal that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. He’s claimed that he was told the gun was “cold” (aka a blank) by assistant director Dave Halls.

The tragedy resulted in the filming and production of Rust being postponed indefinitely. In February of this year, the family of Hutchins then filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and other members of the Rust production team, which was settled last month.

Now, Baldwin has filed a lawsuit for negligence and indemnification against a number of Rust crew members including armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, weapons and rounds supplier Seth Kenney, first assistant director David Halls and property master Sarah Zachry. All have previously denied responsibility for the fatal shooting.

The complaint from Baldwin’s lawyer Luke Nikas reads (via Deadline): “This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her.”

The suit also discusses how Baldwin believes his career was negatively affected by the incident. “Baldwin has also lost numerous job opportunities and associated income,” the suit reads. “For example, he’s been fired from multiple jobs expressly because of the incident on Rust and has been passed over for other opportunities, which is a direct result of the negligence of Cross-Defendants Gutierrez-Reed, Halls, Kenney, PDQ, and Zachry.”

“More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy,” it adds. “By these Cross-Claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct.”

In a controversial interview with ABC News in December, Baldwin claimed he “didn’t pull the trigger” on the gun which killed Hutchins. “The trigger wasn’t pulled,” Baldwin said. “I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them, never.”

The actor also addressed whether this shooting could mean the end of his career. “I couldn’t give a shit about my career anymore,” Baldwin said.

Speaking about his mental state, Baldwin added: “I have dreams about this constantly now. I go through my day, and I make it through the day. Then I collapse at the end of the day. Emotionally, I collapse.”

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