The actor took to Instagram to share a series of posts defending the working conditions for the cast and crew.
Alec Baldwin is seemingly defending the working conditions on the set of Rust, where the actor fired a gun on the Rust set that was inadvertently loaded with a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Baldwin took to Instagram Tuesday to share a series of screenshots of a note from Terese Magpale Davis, who was working in the costume department on the set of the Western. In the thread, Davis discounted rumors that the cast and crew of Rust were working under unsafe or unfair conditions.
"I'm so sick of this narrative," Davis began. "I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bulls**t."
Davis then discussed the amount of time the crew worked, the breaks they got and how after having a 56-hour weekend right before the tragic misfire, no one was "too tired to do their jobs," something she claimed was "provable by daily time sheets."
Davis also addressed reports that members of the camera crew were not given safe and adequate lodging, claiming that most of the crew didn't even use the rooms they were given because production wrapped so early each night.
"The camera crew HAD hotels. They just didn't feel they were fancy enough. NOT that they were unsafe," she claimed.
Davis defended the producers of Rust stating "concerns were heard and addressed."
She then claimed that the crew had a "union rep" who advised production to "not give into the camera crew," adding that they were "given permission to hire off" of a union overflow list, after sharing that the camera crew started demanding things that the union did not require.
Davis then discussed the hiring of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls, stating that while Gutierrez-Reed wasn't the most experienced person for the job, she had a good resume and "great references" and had been working "in the same position on the same time of movie" just months before. While Davis said that Halls "never seemed flippant about safety," she did note that Halls was "stressed" over the camera crew walkout, which set the film's schedule behind, admitting that the AD had "screwed up majorly that day" by making the "most horrible call he could make."
And while she said that she's angry at Halls for what happened that day, she won't "jump on the bandwagon" and "pretend he was uncaring" about the cast and crew's safety during the entirety of their time on set.
"I am heartbroken and furious that he did so and I will never get the sound of that gunshot or my director's screams out of my head as a result. My friend is dead. Am I angry with him? Yes. But I won't jump on the bandwagon and pretend that he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through," she wrote.
While Davis said she was all for getting better working conditions, she said what happened on the set of Rust wasn't a case of that, but rather an issue of "gun safety."
"I'm all for getting better working conditions. I've gotten in two car accidents from being worked too hard. I know what that feels like. This wasn't that," she wrote. "This was about gun safety. Something we could all stand to learn a little bit more about so that we know if we're seeing something a bit off."
Davis concluded her note by stating that she will fight for better gun safety in Hutchins' name, vowing to never again have a live gun on set of a project she's working on. But what she said she won't do is use the late cinematographer to advocate for better hours, before sending a reminder that the only people who understand what truly happened on that set are those who were there.
Baldwin's Rust co-star, Frances Fisher, agreed with the actor in the comments section.
The post comes just days after Badlwin somberly spoke for the first time on camera about the shooting and his relationship with Hutchins.
"She was my friend," he said. "The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened."
Baldwin also noted that he's spoken to Hutchins' husband and that "the guy is overwhelmed with grief."
Baldwin's statement came after Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told media that they had "identified two other people that handled and or inspected the loaded gun prior to Baldwin firing the weapon," naming Gutierrez-Reed and Halls. Mendoza confirmed that "all three individuals have been cooperative in the investigation and have provided statements."
Earlier this week, Sheriff Mendoza said it was "too early" to discuss possible charges being filed. "The investigation will continue and if the sheriff's office determines during our investigation that a crime has occurred and probable cause exists, an arrest or arrests will be made and charges will be filed," he explained.
For more on the tragic incident, watch the video below.
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