You might have heard that the infamous actor Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer of a movie being filmed last October. The incident was supposedly an accident, with a prop weapon going off while facing Halyna Hutchins.
However, that doesn’t mean fault can’t be found with Baldwin or other film crew members.
Of course, Baldwin has claimed since the time of the fatal shooting that he should and, in fact, cannot be held in any way responsible for the results of his actions, unintentional as they might have been.
But a judge just ruled that exactly to be possible.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael E Whitaker ruled on Tuesday that a lawsuit against Baldwin can proceed, as there is enough evidence that Baldwin and others held some fault.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the plaintiff, Mamie Mitchell, script supervisor of the movie “Rust,” alleges that Baldwin is guilty of assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
Mitchell had previously filed a lawsuit against Baldwin, but it was dismissed by Whitaker back in September. However, this suit appears to hold more weight, and so it has now been allowed to continue.
Whitaker’s ruling stated, “For pleading purposes, the Court finds the second amended complaint alleges facts sufficient to establish despicable conduct carried out by (the defendants) with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others.”
So what evidence does Mitchell and now the Court has that Baldwin may hold at least some of the blame?
Well, for starters, there is video proof that Baldwin was 1) holding the weapon when it was discharged, 2) had his finger on the trigger at the time, and 3) was aiming it in Hutchins’ direction.
Additionally, the FBI, who looked into the incident shortly after it occurred, determined that due to the style and type of firearm used, it could not have gone off without someone’s finger on the trigger.
Baldwin has alleged that he never put his finger on the trigger and certainly didn’t pull it. Instead, he claimed that the weapon misfired due to his apparent “fanning” of it. He told Chris Cuomo this in an interview on News Nation some time ago.
Of course, there is also ample evidence that both the crew and Baldwin were overwhelmingly negligent about the handling of the prop, particularly given that it was a working firearm. You know, like the fact that it shouldn’t have been loaded, to begin with. Or, if so, with something other than a live round.
Baldwin has also attempted to blame several other parties for the results of the incident.
First, he tried to blame Hutchins herself.
Then in August, he began making odd comments insinuating that former US President Donald Trump and others were somehow responsible, despite none of them being there at the time of the shooting. It should be noted that trump and the “others” have all questioned Baldwin’s innocence publicly.
But clearly, no one really believes his claims.
Of course, it doesn’t help that he’s made several comments on social media about the incident that suggests he doesn’t care what happened to Hutchins and even makes it seem as though she had it coming. Additionally, he acts as though he’s above any certain punishment and bears no responsibility at all.
Thankfully, with this judge’s recent ruling, he might be second-guessing his untouchability right about now. He needs to know that there are consequences to his actions, no matter how famous or rich he might be. Having the latter does not entitle him to do whatever he wants when he wants and without recompense. Like the rest of us, he will face the music one of these days.
Of course, we don’t know yet what those consequences might be. But it seems that we’ll find out sooner rather than later now.
