Actor Alec Baldwin on Friday filed a lawsuit in California against several individuals associated with the “Rust” film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by the actor last October during a rehearsal for a scene for the movie, which was being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The lawsuit is the first legal action in which Baldwin alleges wrongdoing against someone in relation to the shooting.
Baldwin, who is listed as a defendant in a 2021 lawsuit by a “Rust” script supervisor, filed the cross-complaint against the production’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director David Halls, armorer assistant Seth Kenney, the prop weapon and ammunition supply store company Kenney owns, and prop master Sarah Zachry.
“More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy. By these Cross-Claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct,” the cross-complaint says.
“This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her,” the complaint alleges, adding Baldwin was unaware of those facts, but the cross-defendants knew.
“These Cross Defendants are professionals who owed a duty to those on set, including Baldwin, to keep the set safe. Everyone on set, including Baldwin, expected and trusted them to do so. Hutchins never would have instructed Baldwin to point the gun in her direction and pull back the hammer if she thought the slightest possibility existed that it was loaded; Baldwin, who shared the same state of mind as Hutchins in that critical moment, wouldn’t have done so under such conditions,” the lawsuit claims.
Baldwin is seeking “compensatory, nominal, statutory, and punitive damages” through a jury trial, litigation-related expenses, and other relief to be determined by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the cross-complaint says.
In an August 2022 interview with CNN, Baldwin placed responsibility for the film set tragedy on Gutierrez Reed and Halls, who handed him the gun.
Jason Bowles, attorney for Gutierrez Reed, told CNN on Friday: “He was the one who shot Halyna, and it’s his fault, no one else’s.”
Asked in August for comment, Halls’ attorney accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others.
Kenney’s attorneys have previously denied responsibility in the shooting.
CNN reached out Friday to attorneys representing Halls and Kenney for comment on the lawsuit. CNN is seeking contact details for Zachary’s attorney.
