Prosecutors allege that Alec Baldwin couldn’t control his emotions on the set of Rust and that his behavior contributed to “safety compromises” before the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer.
The claims come as part of a legal filing made in response to a motion from the actor’s attorneys seeking to have the indictment against him thrown out. Baldwin is set to go on trial in New Mexico in July on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after he allegedly fired a live round from a prop gun at Halyna Hutchins, killing her, in 2021.
In the filing made public Monday, prosecutor Kari Morrissey alleged that Baldwin would scream and curse at both crew members and himself on the set.
“To watch Mr. Baldwin’s conduct on the set of ‘Rust’ is to witness a man who has absolutely no control of his own emotions and absolutely no concern for how his conduct affects those around him,” Morrissey wrote, according to Variety. “Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set.”
Baldwin allegedly demanded that the crew and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, “work faster,” according to the filing, CNN reports. Prosecutors allege that such “relentless rushing of the crew on the movie set routinely compromised safety.”
Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for ensuring the safety of all of the guns on the set, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month. She now faces a possible sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty to his own involuntary manslaughter charge in January. In the filing Monday, prosecutors alleged that people in the crew saw Gutierrez-Reed appearing “inexperienced and overwhelmed” and that Baldwin had overlooked the matter.
“The combination of Hannah Gutierrez’s negligence and inexperience and Alec Baldwin’s complete lack of concern for the safety of those around him would prove deadly for Halyna Hutchins,” the filing reads.
Prosecutors also accused Baldwin of having “lied shamelessly” and repeatedly “changed his story” about the shooting, allegedly attempting to pass responsibility for Hutchins’ death to others.
In their motion last month seeking to have the indictment dismissed, Baldwin’s lawyers accused the prosecutors of misconduct and alleged they had “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties.”
“Enough is enough,” the attorneys wrote at the time. “This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.”
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