Halyna Hutchins ’ estate is calling out Alec Baldwin ’s “shameful” attempt at deflecting any responsibility for the killing of the cinematographer on the set of Rust .
After Halyna’s widower Matthew Hutchins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, it appears the 63-year-old actor has continued to point fingers at everyone but himself, this time doing so by filing an arbitration demand against his fellow Rust producers. As we previously reported, Baldwin aimed to protect himself from any current and future lawsuits by invoking a provision in his contract with the Rust production company that immunizes him from financial responsibility for any mishap. He is also attempting to get production to pay for his legal fees. His lawyer Luke Nikas stated:
“Someone is culpable for chambering the live round that led to this horrific tragedy, and it is someone other than Baldwin. This is a rare instance when the system broke down, and someone should be held legally culpable for the tragic consequences. That person is not Alec Baldwin. ”
Related: Alec Baldwin Blasts Halyna Hutchins’ Family As Money Hungry!
In the filing, the 30 Rock alum even went as far as to even pass off some of the responsibility for the shooting on to Halyna, saying she told him to point the gun “where it was directed toward her” and had him “pull back the hammer” at the time:
“Baldwin then pulled back the hammer, but not far enough to actually cock the gun. When Baldwin let go of the hammer, the gun went off. ”
Wow…
Now, the attorney for Hutchins’ estate Brian Panish is slamming the producer for his legal actions. In a statement to Deadline on Friday, he blasted Baldwin for trying to minimize his role in the October 21 incident that killed the 42-year-old director of photography by placing the blame onto the victim in the new legal docs. The lawyer stated:
“Alec Baldwin once again is trying to avoid liability and accountability for his reckless actions before and on Oct 21st that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins, as demonstrated by today’s arbitration demand for indemnification from the Rust production company. ”
He then blasted the father of seven for including text messages from Matthew when they were not relevant to his “ demand for arbitration” in the filing:
“ Baldwin’s disclosure of personal texts with Matt Hutchins is irrelevant to his demand for arbitration and fails to demonstrate anything other than Hutchins’ dignity in his engagement with Baldwin. ”
Elsewhere in the court documents, Baldwin apparently pushed for the Rust cast and crew to complete the movie in the weeks following Halyna’s death. In fact , The Blast reported that he started discussions with other producers by November 3, asking for a possible settlement to allow production to resume. That was barely two weeks after the filmmakers passed! The legal docs said:
“Baldwin was able to convince each of the primary actors needed to complete the film and the film’s director Souza – who had been injured in that day’s events – that finishing ‘Rust’ was an important step in honoring Halyna Hutchins’s memory and talent, defining her legacy, and, in turn, providing financial support to her family. ”
The Beetlejuice star allegedly only wanted to continue filming to honor Hutchins’ legacy and to create a settlement for Matthew and their 9-year-old son through the film’s profits. Obviously, that went out the window when her widower filed the wrongful death lawsuit.
In response to Baldwin wanting to complete the movie after Halyna’s death, Panish also told Deadline :
“It is shameful that Baldwin claims Hutchins’ actions in filing a wrongful death lawsuit derailed the completion of Rust. The only action that ended the film’s production was Baldwin’s killing of Halyna Hutchins. ”
This whole situation is just getting messier and messier, huh! What are your thoughts on the latest within the Rust legal battle, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments (below).
[Image via Halyna Hutchins/Instagram , WENN/Avalon ]
The post Halyna Hutchins’ Estate Attorney Slams ‘Shameful’ Alec Baldwin For Blaming Late Cinematographer For < i> Rust< /i> Shooting appeared first on Perez Hilton .
