SAG-AFTRA Criticizes Alec Baldwin’s Charges As “Wrong and Misinformed”

In its statement, SAG-AFTRA called Hutchins‘ death “preventable,” but maintained that industry standards for on-set gun safety do not hold performers responsible “to check any firearm.”

Photo Credit: Getty Images
Photo Credit: Getty Images

Actors union SAG-AFTRA came to Alec Baldwin’s defense Thursday after prosecutors announced the actor-producer will face two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”

In its statement, SAG-AFTRA called Hutchins‘ death “preventable,” but maintained that industry standards for on-set gun safety do not hold performers responsible “to check any firearm.” Rather, the union argued that job falls to “qualified professionals.”

“The prosecutor’s contention that an actor has a duty to ensure the functional and mechanical operation of a firearm on a production set is wrong and uninformed,” the SAG-AFTRA statements reads. “An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for their use under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm.”

In an interview approx one month after the shooting, Baldwin claimed he was told that the gun had no live rounds inside and said that he didn’t pull the trigger. He has maintained that he doesn’t know how the shooting happened.

In addition to Baldwin’s impending charges, the project’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will also face involuntary manslaughter charges, and assistant director David Halls has agreed to a plea deal “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.”