Husband of cinematographer shot by Alec Baldwin speaks in first TV interview
Matt Hutchins, husband of the late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was accidentally shot by Alec Baldwin and fatally wounded on a New Mexico film set last year, on Thursday said he was “so angry” after seeing the actor describing the events leading up to his wife’s death.
In his first interview on the tragedy, Hutchins pointed to Baldwin as largely responsible for Halyna’s death, calling the actor’s own TV interview following the shooting “absurd.”
Speaking to ABC following the shooting, Baldwin said he did not feel responsible for the death of Halyna and claimed he had never pulled the trigger of the gun that killed her and injured director Joel Souza.
Responding to those comments, Hutchins told NBC’s ‘The Today Show’ that “the idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me.”
Do you think that the majority of the blame lays on Alec Baldwin? -@hodakotbEvery individual who touches a firearm has a responsibility for gun safety. But gun safety was not the only problem on that set. -Matt Hutchins, husband of Halyna Hutchins https://t.co/8R7odSo6WCpic.twitter.com/u3PKFr96vv
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 24, 2022
Hutchins also accused the ‘Rust’ movie production, on which Baldwin was also serving as a producer, of cutting corners on safety guidelines and industry standards, something that has been previously suggested in reports about the set where guns were allegedly not well-guarded.
“Gun safety was not the only problem on that set. There were a number of industry standards that were not practiced and there’s multiple responsible parties,” he said.
The Hutchins family has filed suit against Baldwin and others connected to the production over the safety standards on the set. It is one of multiple lawsuits stemming from the shooting.
The actor has received backlash for his tearful ABC interview, and Hutchins said that Baldwin’s behavior during it made him angry.
“I was just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her,” he said.
Hutchins had been married to his wife for 16 years and the two had a son together.