Mickey Rourke defends Alec Baldwin, says 'no way in hell' actor should face charges for 'Rust' shooting
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO: Actor and former boxer Mickey Rourke sprung to Alec Baldwin's defense claiming "no way in hell" the actor should be charged for the fatal on-set shooting of 'Rust' cinematographer. Rourke spoke about Baldwin's tragic incident on Instagram after it was announced the Oscar-nominated actor will be officially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin was practicing pulling a cross-cut on the movie set of 'Rust' when a replica Pietta Colt .45 discharged, killing Hutchins, 42, and injuring director Joel Souza, 49, in New Mexico. "It's a terrible tragedy what happened to a cinematographer Halyna Hutchins," Rourke wrote on Instagram adding it was wrong to prosecute the 64-year-old actor. "But no way in hell actor Alec Baldwin should be charged with any negligence whatsoever."
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The Santa Fe district attorney announced that both Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would be charged with involuntary manslaughter - and face 18 months in prison if convicted. If the pair are found guilty of firearm enhancement, they could be jailed for up to five years. Rourke, who made an appearance on Baldwin's show in 2016, said he is not to blame for the incident and that the actor put his trust in the gun safety experts to oversee that part of the set.
"Most actors don't know anything about guns especially if they didn't grow up around them," Rourke said. "Alec didn't bring the gun to the set from his house or his car, when weapons are involved on a movie set, the guns are supposed to he handled only by the 'weapon armor.'" He further added, "In some cases the 1st AD might pass a gun to an actor,but most of the time the gun is handed to the actor directly by the 'gun armor'. There’s what armor’s job is on the set. To have an expert around any type of dangerous weapon."
He continued that the actors then have "an option of dry firing the gun him or himself to double check." Rourke asserted the decision to charge Baldwin with the ill-fated shooting was "terribly wrong." "I am sure Alec is already suffering enough over what happened. But to lay a blame on him is terribly terribly wrong," Rourke penned on Instagram. Baldwin's attorney, Luke Nikas, said in a statement, "This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice."
He said, "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set." The attorney further added, "He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win," as per NBC.