About a year after the gunshot killed in a western shoot with Alec Baldwin in the United States, the Hollywood star has sued members of the film crew. The lawsuit is directed, among other things, against the armorer and an assistant director who handed the deadly weapon to the actor, US media reported on Friday (local time) unanimously.
“Baldwin, more than anyone else on the set, was wrongly held responsible for this tragedy,” the Los Angeles-filed document reads. Baldwin accuses the defendant of negligence. The accident happened because the gun used in the shoot was loaded with real bullets. The 64-year-old is about restoring his good reputation. But he also demands compensation, wrote the New York Times.
On October 21, 2021, chief camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (42) was fatally injured while filming the low-budget western “Rust” at a film ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin, who served as lead actor and producer on the film, was holding a gun during a scene rehearsal when a shot went off. Investigations revealed that the Colt had a real bullet in it – rather than blank cartridges.
Baldwin has always denied the blame. The armorer and assistant director were also targeted in the police investigation. Aside from those two, the actor is also suing a props maker and the gun and ammunition supplier responsible, it said. The Hollywood star was fired from several jobs and passed over from others because of the incident and is therefore demanding financial compensation.
The armorer’s attorney denied the allegations. “He (Baldwin) was the one who shot Halyna. It’s his fault, nobody else’s fault,” he told CNN. Baldwin’s move counterclaims a lawsuit filed by a script supervisor about a year ago against members of the film crew and the actor himself for failing to comply with on-set safety procedures.
In October this year, the relatives of the killed camerawoman settled a civil lawsuit against Baldwin and others involved in the “Rust” production out of court. “We all believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident,” said widower Matthew Hutchins at the time.