Actor Alec Baldwin has denied reports about unsafe conditions on the set of the western "Rust", addressing the fatal shooting that took place in October. Baldwin took to Instagram, posting messages from Therese Magpale Davis, who is believed to be a costume designer for the film.
Davis said the story about the chaotic conditions on set were nothing but "bull****".
"The misfires were accidental discharges, which are more common than you think", Davis said, adding that the AD (allegedly referring to assistant director Dave Halls) who reportedly handed Baldwin the gun, "never seemed flippant" when it came to safety, although "he screwed up majorly that day".
The tragedy occurred on 21 October, when Baldwin fatally shot camera operator Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on the st of "Rust", because the prop gun he used was loaded with live ammunition rather than the blank cartridges it should have held.
An aerial view of the film set on Bonanza Creek Ranch where Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded a director when he discharged a prop gun on the movie set of the film "Rust" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S., in this frame grab taken from October 21, 2021 television footage. Footage taken October 21, 2021.
© REUTERS / KOB TV NEWS
Since the shooting, allegations over who is responsible for Hutchins' death have heated up.
While some suggest it was Dave Halls who gave Baldwin the loaded weapon, Halls' lawyer Lisa Torraco stressed that it's "not the assistant director's job" to check the firearms on set. She also said it is unclear who exactly handed the gun to Baldwin right before the accident.
At the same time, some reports say that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had earlier been the subject of several complaints, while some of her former colleagues allegedly found her to be "inexperienced and green".