Alec Baldwin Just Had A Major Setback In Rust Lawsuit
Alec Baldwin's motion to be removed from Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell's negligence lawsuit has been denied.
Actor Alec Baldwin has received some troubling news regarding the Rust lawsuit. According to Deadline, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has allowed Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell to pursue her negligence and other claims against the actor who fired a loaded gun on the set of the upcoming western drama last year that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The news comes after Baldwin filed a motion to remove himself from the civil lawsuit filed by Mitchell, and the Santa Fe District Attorney criticized the police report about the horrific incident.
As noted in Deadline, Mitchell was standing near Hutchins and Souza when Alec Baldwin fired the loaded gun. Baldwin and his El Dorado Pictures tried striking Mitchell’s claim for punitive damages, but the judge denied the defendant’s motion. With the judge’s ruling, Baldwin continues to be at the center of this tragedy.
On September 16, 2022, a judge officially ruled that Alec Baldwin was responsible for firing the gun that killed Hutchins. A month after the ruling, Mitchell claimed that Baldwin, the Rust producers, and other crew members showed negligence on the film set. The judge later ruled that the producers didn’t know Baldwin would fire the weapon that killed Hutchins, dismissing Mitchell’s claims for “intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as assault and battery against the Rust producers.”
The tragic incident occurred during a rehearsal in which the weapon wasn’t supposed to be utilized. During his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Alec Baldwin claimed, “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Despite the actor saying otherwise, the FBI later released their forensic report, which suggested that the weapon responsible for killing Hutchins and wounding Souza couldn’t have been fired without pulling the trigger.
Regardless of the contradictory reports and statements, there is still the tragic death of a talented cinematographer. The incident has once again spotlighted the dangers of film sets and reminds everyone why film crew members’ jobs are the most difficult in Hollywood. While Alec Baldwin has tried to move past the tragedy in numerous ways, there’s no doubt the incident will continue to haunt him for the rest of his career.
Following the Rust shooting tragedy, huge debates sparked online regarding the use of guns as props on film sets. Shannon Lee, the sister of late actor Brandon Lee who tragically was killed by accidental shooting from a prop firearm on the set of 1993’s The Crow, called for mandatory gun safety training and reducing firearms as props. Others who have worked in the industry shared similar sentiments and expressed their opinions online.
The tragic shooting came when members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) threatened to strike over low working conditions and pay. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was one of the IATSE members who championed higher pay and better working conditions, stating in an Instagram post: “Standing in #IAsolidarity with our @IATSE crew here in New Mexico on RUST.” If there’s anything to take away from the Alec Baldwin incident is that workplace conditions in Hollywood still need to be addressed.
