Why Halyna Hutchins' Mother Says Alec Baldwin 'Continues To Increase My Pain' Amid 'Rust' Premiere
By Kristin Myers on November 19, 2024 at 9:00 PM EST
Halyna Hutchins' mother has decided to skip the premiere of "Rust" due to the "pain" caused by actor Alec Baldwin following the accidental shooting of the late cinematographer in October 2021.
The "30 Rock" actor had been facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for his role in her death; however, the trial came to an abrupt end in July when the judge decided that prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense and decided to dismiss the trial with prejudice, meaning that Baldwin can no longer face criminal charges for his role in Hutchins' death.
"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has already been sentenced to 18 months behind bars after a jury spent less than three hours finding her guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Halyna Hutchins' Mother Slams Alec Baldwin Ahead Of 'Rust' Premiere
Although "Rust," the final work of Halyna Hutchins, will premiere at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland, Hutchins' mother Olga Solovey has decided that she will not be there.
Instead, she released a statement through her attorney, Gloria Allred, on November 19, blaming Alec Baldwin for the death of her daughter.
"It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen," Solovey said in her statement.
"Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter. Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death," she continued. "Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter. That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion of Rust, especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter."
Alec Baldwin Allegedly Never Apologized For Halyna Hutchins' Death
Gloria Allred's statement claimed that Baldwin's "decision not to even call the family to say he is sorry is cruel and dishonors Halyna and her memory."
"Now, a decision has been made to promote Rust to buyers in order to make a profit for Alec Baldwin and others that had a role in Halyna’s death," Allred added.
She noted that Olga, her father Anatolii, and her sister, Svetlana, "will not agree with this plan to exploit Halyna’s death."
Alec Baldwin’s Legal Team Tried For Months To Get The Case Tossed
Baldwin’s July trial came months after his legal team tried to get the case thrown out of court on various grounds. In one filing obtained by The Blast, his attorneys argued that the actor should not be held liable in a criminal trial because he acted with no criminal intent. The actor was holding the firearm on the set of the Western film when the gun went off, fatally wounding Halyna Hutchins and hospitalizing director Joel Souza. The “Beetlejuice” actor has insisted that he never pulled the trigger on the gun.
Ahead of his trial, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied two motions alleging that prosecutions had mishandled evidence in the case. On June 24, his legal team claimed that they found evidence that shows that information related to the firearm in question was never disclosed to the defense. They argued that this negatively affected “the way Baldwin would have prepared for trial.”
Although Judge Sommer allowed the case to proceed, she did ultimately end the trial on the third day of witness testimony when she decided prosecutors did not turn over relevant evidence to the defense.
Baldwin's Legal Team Alleged A 'Trial By Ambush'
Although the public reaction to Baldwin's criminal charges was mixed, the actor's legal team always insisted that prosecutors were trying to pull a “trial by ambush” and accused them of withholding thousands of files and only making them known to the defense once the trial was about to begin.
In the weeks leading up to the trial, Judge Sommer had also struck down a motion to dismiss the case based on the defense’s claim that the FBI had destroyed the gun used in the shooting during forensic testing. His legal team unsuccessfully argued that, without the gun, there was no way to conclude whether or not the gun fired on its own or if the trigger was pulled, and thus the case should be dropped.
During forensic testing, the FBI concluded that the trigger had to have been pulled for the weapon to fire. However, it was never proven if Baldwin actually pulled the trigger or if the gun misfired.
It also remains unclear how live ammunition ended up on a movie set.
Alec Baldwin Celebrated His 12th Wedding Anniversary Despite Trial
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On June 30, shortly before the trial began, the "Supercell" actor took to Instagram to share three photos of his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, opening the carousel with a photo of her in her wedding dress.
"June 30, 2012. Although I fell in love with you the moment I met you, marrying you seemed like a dream. Good and bad. Ups and downs. 7 kids. (Plus Ireland, Andre and Holland)," he wrote in the caption, including his daughter, Ireland Baldwin, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
Ireland gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Holland, with her boyfriend RAC, making Holland Alec's first grandchild. In addition to the seven children he shares with Hilaria, the actor also mentioned that they were also raising four dogs and four cats before going on to say, "In spite of some tough times for me, I wouldn’t trade any of it. Happy Anniversary. You are my gift."
Reaction to the post was mixed. Although some congratulated the actor on his anniversary, others noted that Halyna Hutchins would never be able to celebrate another anniversary again due to the shooting on the "Rust" set.
Although some felt that the post was in bad taste, the criticism continued after Alec Baldwin announced a planned reality series starring his wife and seven children just before the trial started. No release date has been scheduled for his reality show, which is expected to debut on TLC in 2025.