Alec Baldwin gave his first interview to the media since the gun he was handling fired, killing a cinematographer considered a rising star in the industry, and injuring the director of his upcoming film Rust. In the interview, Baldwin made the claim that he did not, in fact, pull the trigger that fired the bullet.
“It doesn’t seem real to me,” said Baldwin, after crying on camera. When former George Stephanopoulos, a Clinton administration official-turned-interviewer for ABC News, asked the actor “how this happened,” and noted that the script did not call for Baldwin to pull the trigger, the actor denied firing the weapon.
“Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” said Baldwin. When asked to clarify, he added, “No, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them.”
“Someone put a live bullet in the gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
EXCLUSIVE: "The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger," Alec Baldwin tells @GStephanopoulos in first interview since fatal shooting on set of "Rust."
Watch TOMORROW at 8pm ET on @ABC and stream later on @Hulu. https://t.co/u7L88vylra pic.twitter.com/bJsssJoAJq
— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2021
While Baldwin denied being a victim, a gesture that may comfort the family of Halyna Hutchins, the deceased cinematographer killed by the bullet fired by the gun Baldwin was handling, he acknowledged that handling the gun that fired and caused her death is his worst experience to date.
“I think back, and I think of what could I have done,” said Baldwin.
After the death and injury were reported, a series of reports claimed that Baldwin’s movie used non-contract labor in dangerous roles.
In a lawsuit filed against Baldwin, it was alleged that Baldwin “intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm” that killed Hutchins.
“Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell alleges Baldwin should have checked the gun himself for live ammunition rather than relying on the assistant director’s assertion that the Colt .45 revolver was safe to use,” National File reported. Attorney Gloria Allred described Baldwin’s behavior as “Russian Roulette” in a news conference.