The One Claim From Alec Baldwin's Rust Interview That Has Twitter Fuming

The tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins occurred on October 21, 2021, when she was fatally struck by a live round fired from a prop gun used by Alec Baldwin. The investigation is still ongoing, but details revealed so far claim that the prop gun was loaded with live ammunition.

On December 2, 2021, Baldwin gave his first in-depth interview about the on-set accident on ABC News with journalist George Stephanopoulos. The actor noted several details in the interview, including his meeting with Hutchins' family after her death, the overall on-set behavior and working conditions before the incident, as well as his account of the moments that led up to when the prop gun fired. Baldwin gave a specific breakdown of just what was going on between him and Hutchins right before the prop gun went off, and it's this part of the interview that isn't sitting too well with a lot of viewers who tuned into it.

During the ABC Interview, Alec Baldwin claimed that he didn't pull the trigger of the gun that shot and killed Hutchins. Instead, the actor recalled that moments before the fatal accident, during a rehearsal, Hutchins asked Baldwin to hold the gun in her direction and that she also asked him to set the hammer of the revolver for firing. According to Baldwin, that's when the gun accidentally fired. Many viewers who heard Baldwin's claim about how the gun went off weren't pleased by what they heard.

User @TWiserheart saw Baldwin's account of what happened as shifting the blame on the victim, as they wrote, "OMG. Alec Baldwin is saying that unless the cinematographer tells you to point the gun at her ... he's literally placing that on the dead woman. I just can't." Another user, @ThatAbbyB, shared a similar sentiment as they also wrote, "He said [at] the beginning of the interview he didn't want to be the victim, but man, the blame-shifting is unreal."

Some viewers felt even with the shooting being an accident, Baldwin should still take some responsibility for his actions, as @electricsoul123 wrote, "Whether or not he intended to kill someone or not if your actions led to someone dying, then you must be held accountable in some way."

In general, many such as @MarleeLoiben2 and @Chrishale92 felt that ABC Interview was just a terrible idea, especially as the investigation is still ongoing. There's honestly no telling what type of impact Baldwin's interview could have on his career and the case as the investigation unfolds.