Embed from Getty Images
I was muy sorprendida when Alec and Hilaria Baldwin announced they were doing a TLC reality show about their lives. Between Hilaria being outed as not Spanish but a Bostoniana autentica, and Alec’s involvement in the tragic accidental killing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, it didn’t seem like the best moment to invite more scrutiny. So at the very least, I expected that The Baldwins, which premiered February 23, would avoid any and all mention of Halyna. Shows you what I know! The second episode dove straight into the matter, with Hilaria saying Alec has survivor’s guilt, and Alec later talking about how it’s been hard to get work since the fatal accident. That prompted Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Halyna’s parents and sister, to release a statement on behalf of the family, asking why Alec is trying to play the victim. Allred also filed a notice to get Alec to testify in May for the two-year-old wrongful death suit
Gloria Allred and other attorneys for the Rust cinematographer’s mother Olga Solovey, father Anatolii Androsovych and sister Svetlana Zemko filed a notice of deposition in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday, March 3. In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, they demanded that Baldwin testify on May 9 in the wrongful death civil suit they filed against him in February 2023.
The actor-producer, now 66, was rehearsing for the Western film in October 2021 when a prop gun he was holding accidentally fired, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin, who has maintained that he did not pull the trigger, faced criminal charges in an involuntary manslaughter case that was dismissed with prejudice last July.
“It is long overdue for Alec Baldwin to admit and face the real-life consequences that he caused Halyna’s parents and sister. It is time for him to face reality under oath,” reads the statement, which condemns the TLC series starring Baldwin, his wife Hilaria and their seven children that premiered on Feb. 23.
“Why is he claiming that he has PTSD?” continues the statement, referencing Baldwin addressing the emotional fallout of the Rust incident on The Baldwins. “Is his reality show just a veiled attempt to create sympathy for himself with a future jury pool in our civil case? Is this just a shameless attempt to portray him as the real victim in this case?”
The statement notes that the Emmy winner “never called or tried to contact her parents or sister to say that he was sorry, and to this day he has never taken responsibility for Halyna’s death.”
Baldwin’s lawyers did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Baldwin faces another wrongful death civil lawsuit from Hutchins’ widower Matthew — named an executive producer on the to-be-released film — which has not been fully resolved, despite its October 2022 settlement. Several production crew members have filed suits against Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last March).
This is a wound that is never going to heal, on all sides. Alec is not the victim here. That being said, I can absolutely imagine that the experience was horrific for him. Alec has to live the rest of his life knowing that the gun in his hands killed someone. But I think that should be his private pain, because making it public does run the risk of seeming opportunistic. Which, again, is why I cannot believe he signed on to talk about it all in a reality show! It’s not a good look, and I’m not at all surprised Gloria Allred is calling him out for playing the victim. Halyna’s family has to navigate their pain over the death of their daughter, sister, wife, mother. The loss is so significant that no one is going to be at peace no matter the court verdict.
Also, I wonder: is the memory of Halyna getting lost in all this? There’s a new Hulu documentary coming out on Tuesday called Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna. While it was made by friends & colleagues of Halyna’s, at a screening last week Rust director Joel Souza publicly asked the filmmakers why there wasn’t more of Halyna in the final film. We’ll have to wait to see the doc to judge for ourselves, but I will say this: the fleeting moments in the trailer of now-convicted armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not redeem her in any way.
Photos credit Getty and via Instagram
H a l y n a s family is in pain and in mourning yet alec has a family reality show with his wife and many children. Really bad taste.
I’ve still got a shot on my phone of a clapperboard dated 10/23/21 with a strip of yellow gaffer tape at the top that reads “Rest in Light Halyna Hutchins”. I remember taking that photo of the clapperboard before we started rolling. I remember hearing “Speed. Sound” the clapperboard and “Action” it was the first take of the first shot that morning — so it was a bit of a s***show
I remember the Instagram acc @behindtheclapperboard collected clapperboard 🎬 pics from film sets around the world commemorating Halyna and posting it on their stories
Gratitude to all the incredible armourers, First AD’s, stunt supervisors and coordinators and production people who keep us safe
Thank g-d I have never experienced a really bad accident or death on any film set I’ve worked on. I would have to leave the industry
I am really glad that a documentary is being done on Halyna. I want to honor her as an artist. I also want to support her family.
I have worked w those who have PTSD. I am conflicted by Baldwin’s show. I see it as in bad taste and the same time it shows real side of trauma and I say this as a person who has always had a hard time taking Hilaria’s thirst. I was glad that H notes that there is no happy ending in this tragedy. I don’t like her but I believe she realizes it. Lainey had a great article ab them needing the $ bc his career has halted and this is putting her front and center to make $. It sits in a bad light for me but at the same time as someone who has worked in psychology, I see real trauma in the show. I look forward again to watching Haylna who much more deserves the honoring. Conflicted.
I understand this reasoning but don’t like it for the following reasons: the fact that he never reached out to anyone indicates not trauma but sociopathy and he and his wife already have exhibited a lot of that.
Here is the tiny violin for the man who once again tries to make a tragedy about a woman that he caused something we need to comfort him for.
If they have trauma then they need to quit outsourcing it to others and clean up their money messes in private. There’s a difference between telling your side and trying to look like the victim when you accidentally shoot someone.
I’m guessing legal counsel told him not to. And apology is an admission of guilt that can be used in court. It’s why you aren’t supposed to apologize when you get pulled over. I’m not saying it’s right – it’s not, she was a beautiful person taken from her life and people far too soon. I’m saying that he’s probably following legal advice instead of moral / ethical advice.
Yes, that’s true. I guess the main thrust of my point is that her family has not been satisfied with his response to them.
imma legal professional – the lawyer would have also likely advised them not to discuss it on a public forum like they are now, so….. ….. that theory goes to hell in a hand basket with them because they simply cannot help but monetize their life and try to absolve themselves in the public eye.
These people have no moral compass at all, and they DGAF what they should be doing. They only care about themselves, and their needs.
As a longtime fan of Baldwin’s acting, I was shocked that he agreed to do this disgusting show. And if he is desperate for money and needed to do it, the focus on poor Halayna is revolting! Alec’s pain, the pain on these endless, who asked for them, children. And that horrible Hilarious … no words.
Really important detail is that this reality show was filmed before the trial. Meaning they agreed to do this less than a year after the event. They are shamelessly capitalizing on someone else’s tragedy in the early stages of grief.
I fully believe this show is a terrible idea and a terrible look, but I am irrationally irritated by the “why hasn’t he reached out to say sorry” line that has come up repeatedly in the press briefs against him by people trying to sue him. Because you would jump on that like a rabid hyena, lady. That is the price we all pay for negotiating trauma via litigation. There is no space for “I’m sorry.”
I’m so glad that not a single person has given this show a positive review yet
TBH I’m ashamed of myself for watching it, but it’s like a train wreck and I can’t look away. I wish we were discussing it more. I’m horrified by the timing of it, as I said above. It’s like, practically as soon as it happened they were looking for ways to exploit the tragedy.
But then in episode 2, I’m not sure what to make of their 10 year old daughter, in jewelry and makeup. She can’t go to summer camp with the other kids because she’s 10 years old (?!?) so she stays at home all day caring for the baby.
MightyMolly – Don’t worry, I understand the car-wreck element of its attraction.
I haven’t watched more than trailers but it sounds like not only do these kids have weirdo dysfunctional parents in the spotlight but they’re also parentified as hell which is so screwed up considering they are absolutely not too poor to hire help (…well, I assume).
Separate from the show, I do think he is a victim – and that doesn’t mean that Halyna’s death is any less awful for her family. He didn’t know the gun was loaded and he wouldn’t have held it if he had known it was. Now he has a death on his hands – one he never would have committed in a million years. How is he not a victim in that? I would have PTSD from shooting someone with a gun that I thought was empty.
As for him not apologizing – it doesn’t look great. Who knows why – maybe his lawyers wouldn’t let him, maybe he feels that he is the victim of the armorer and he doesn’t need to apologize, etc. But it seems like the blame should be fully on the armorer here. Baldein gets blamed because people know who he is.
Yeah, no, there are different things happening here. Would it be legitimate for Alec to have PTSD from the incident? Absolutely? Does Alec have access to top tier mental health support? Also, yes. Is it okay for Alec to record a profit-making reality show less than a year after the incident talking about how he’s the victim? Okay, here we’re going with a no.