Alec Baldwin is facing backlash after posting to Instagram in remembrance of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of his film Rust one year ago.
“One year ago today…” the actor captioned the image of Hutchins behind a camera.
Some commenters slammed him for the “tone deaf” tribute, because it was Baldwin who held the prop gun as it discharged and killed Hutchins on the New Mexico movie set on October 21st last year.
Actor Leslie Jordan led the trickle of support for Baldwin with his comment: “Stay strong my friend. Thinking about you and all those effected by this terrible accident.”
Other celebrities left heart emojis and prayer hands in support of the actor’s post.
Baldwin has always maintained that he did not pull the trigger, but an FBI report released in August disputed the claim, finding the prop “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger”.
Baldwin reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month, for an undisclosed amount of money.
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Hutchins’ widower Matthew Hutchins has been named an executive producer on the movie, and will also receive a portion of the profits.
“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” he said in a statement. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
No charges or arrests have been made in the year since Hutchins’ death, however the New York Post reported charges could still be coming Baldwin’s way.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed an emergency request for $635,500 from New Mexico’s Board of Finance so her office would have the funds necessary to prosecute up to four people in connection with the incident, noting: “one of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin”.
Filming for Rust is also set to resume in January.
