Alec Baldwin has slammed fellow actor George Clooney over his comments about Baldwin’s accidental fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of his film Rust.
After a trailer dropped yesterday, the 63-year-old’s full interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos has now been aired.
In a clip from the interview, Stephanopoulos asks Baldwin: “How do you respond to actors like George Clooney who say every time they were handed a gun they checked it themselves?”
Baldwin replies bluntly: “There were a lot of people who felt it necessary to contribute some comment to the situation, which really didn’t help the situation at all.
(Image: ABC)
“If your protocol is you check the gun every time – well good for you, good for you.
“I’ve probably handled weapons as much as any other actor in films, with an average career, again shooting or being shot by someone.
“In that time, I had a protocol and it never let me down.”
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021, when a gun was fired by producer and actor Baldwin, which was thought by crew to be filled with blanks.
(Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
Director Joel Souza, 48, was wounded in the incident at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, US.
During an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Clooney, 60, described the death as “infuriating” and “insane” given the gun safety measures brought onto film and TV sets following the deaths actors Jon-Erik Hexum and Brandon Lee, in 1984 and 1993 respectively.
He said: “Every single time I’m handed a gun on the set, every time they hand me a gun, I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I’m pointing it too, I show it to the crew.
“Every single take.”
(Image: ABC)
Immediately after the incident Baldwin is said to have repeatedly asked why he had been given a “hot gun”, and was heard exclaiming “in all my years, I’ve never been handed a hot gun”.
The term “hot gun” refers to one loaded with real ammunition.
In response to that, Clooney said: “First of all, I’ve never heard the term ‘cold gun’.”
“I’ve never heard that term. Literally, they’re just talking about stuff I’ve never heard of. It’s just infuriating.”
In today’s interview, Baldwin also told Stephanopoulos that he doesn’t feel guilty.
(Image: ABC)
“Someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” he said when asked about guilt.
Baldwin later added that he doesn’t expect to face criminal charges.
He explained: “I’ve been told by people who are in the know…that it’s highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
