Although a recent FBI analysis of the gun in the fatal Rust movie set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year found that the gun "was in working order at the time and would not have discharged unless it was fully cocked and the trigger was pulled," Alec Baldwin remains adamant that he never pulled the trigger.
The actor spoke out about the tragic accident on a recent episode of The Chris Cuomo Project podcast, maintaining that the prop gun was faulty and fired on its own.
"The man who is the principal safety officer of the set of the film declared the gun was safe when he handed it to me," Alec Baldwin told Cuomo. "The man who was the principal safety officer of the film declared in front of the entire assemblage, 'This is a cold gun.' Now, why did he say that if he didn't know and hadn't checked?"
Baldwin, Hutchins, and director Joel Souza were rehearsing a scene for the Western Rust last October when Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins (allegedly at her request). The gun then discharged, killing Hutchins and critically injuring Souza. But the gun, which Baldwin believed to be a blank-filled prop gun, should have never had live rounds in it to begin with.
"The point is we were told everything was cool and you can relax and we are working with a gun that is safe to rehearse with," the actor continued. "What is likely is that someone who was responsible for one situation or one line of responsibility and the other person—a tandem of the two people—one of them or both were negligent."
Baldwin Rejects Being Portrayed as Victim in Shooting
While Baldwin admitted to Cuomo that he was "frustrated" by the situation, he wants people to remember that Hutchins and her family are the real victims here, not him.
"Nothing is going to bring this woman back. She's dead. She has a little boy," he expressed. The actor intended to complete the film and donate a portion of the proceeds to the cinematographer's family until he was named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Hutchins' widower and young son. "This is the real tragedy. Everything we've said doesn't matter—me, the press. My point is, the real tragedy here is what happened to this woman."
Watch Baldwin's full interview on The Chris Cuomo Project podcast below: