Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Slams Rumors She Was 'Hungover' On 'Rust' Set

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is firing back at claims that she was hungover on the set of "Rust."

In January 2023, Gutierrez-Reed and actor Alec Baldwin had been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico on October 21, 2021.

In April 2023, two special prosecutors that had only been appointed to the "Rust" case a few weeks before decided to dismiss the charges against Alec Baldwin pending further investigation. However, those charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that the actor could still be charged again at any time as law enforcement officials continue with their investigation.

In early June, court documents obtained by The Blast reveal that special prosecutors appointed by the Santa Fe District Attorney will make a decision as to whether or not the "30 Rock" actor will again face criminal charges in the next sixty days.

That being said, charges were not dropped against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Although a preliminary hearing for both Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin had been scheduled for May 3, Gutierrez-Reed's hearing has been postponed until August as the "Rust" special prosecutors continue to build evidence in the case against her.

According to new court documents obtained by The Blast earlier this week, several witnesses on the "Rust" set have come forward to allege that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was a heavy drinker and speculate that she might have been hungover when she was performing her duties as both armorer and props master.

Her attorney, Jason Bowles, states that prosecutors “recklessly, falsely, and without factual foundation” states that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had been sued for “providing the keys to her motorcycle to an intoxicated person who was predictably involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in someone’s death.”

“Witnesses in the current case will testify that Defendant Gutierrez was drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of Rust,” the prosecutors wrote. “It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hungover when she inserted a live bullet into a gun that she knew was going to be used at some point by an actor while filming a shooting scene with other actors and crew members.”

Bowles states that the State “did not remotely get the facts right,” stating that the person who died in the motorcycle accident was actually her boyfriend and that he drove a “kick start” that did not require keys. He also states that it is “very interesting” that these allegations “now belatedly surface” eighteen months into the investigation.

“In fact, witnesses to date have all said Hannah was reliable, competent, and not hungover on the job,” he states, citing an interview with props assistant Nicole Montoya. Bowles wrote, “Baldwin said he trusted her. No witness has ever said that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was hungover on the day of the shooting.”

Although the criminal case against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed continues, the case against Alec Baldwin was dropped due to a possible malfunction in the gun he was holding inside the church when it fired.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast in early June, the FBI knew that certain tests that they were performing on the firearm might damage it: however, the Santa Fe District Attorney's office claims that the FBI never notified them that such tests they performed on the gun might make it impossible to use when building their case against Baldwin.

Although Halyna Hutchins was fatally wounded in the shooting, director Joel Souza, who was standing right behind Hutchins, was also hospitalized as a result of the shooting. However, he was able to recover and traveled to Montana in April in order to finish production on his Western film.

Although Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not return as an armorer, Alec Baldwin continued to film his scenes as Harland Rust. At one point, he was also photographed beside Bianca Cline, who served as the film's new cinematographer. Cline reportedly donated her salary to charity and had the "blessing and support" of Halyna Hutchins' husband, Matthew Hutchins, who is now serving as an executive producer on the film as part of his wrongful death lawsuit that was settled last October.

Last month, that lawsuit was sealed to protect the privacy of Halyna Hutchins' son, who is a minor, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.