Matt Hutchins, the husband of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died in October after being shot and killed by a bullet from a prop gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust, is speaking out about his wife’s death in his first public interview.
In a preview for a sit-down with Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb set to air in full Thursday, Hutchins directed the blame for his wife’s death at Baldwin and “industry standards that were not practiced” on set.
During an interview with Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos in December, Baldwin gave a detailed timeline of exactly what he claims happened on Oct. 21, saying that he was handed what he was told was a “cold” prop gun. He also explained that Hutchins guided him on “how to hold the gun” for the camera angle and told him to begin cocking the hammer for a particular shot, but said he did not pull the trigger.
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“I pulled the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the gun,” Baldwin said. “I let go of the hammer and bang, the gun goes off.” He later added, “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
In addition to the bullet hitting Hutchins, the film’s director, Joel Souza, was also shot in the shoulder.
Matt Hutchins offered his thoughts on Baldwin’s account, sharing that he “just felt so angry” when watching the actor’s interview. “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.
He also noted, “The idea that the person holding the gun causing it to discharge is not responsible, is absurd to me. But 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.”
Hutchins’ interview comes amid his family announcing that a wrongful death suit has been filed in New Mexico against Baldwin and “others responsible for the safety on set and whose reckless behavior” led to the cinematographer’s death. The family’s attorney, Brian Panish, alleged that at least 15 industry standards were disregarded on the set. Hutchins’ family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
The shooting continues to be under investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
