The husband of the cinematographer fatally shot while filming the movie “Rust” said he was “just so angry” over actor Alec Baldwin’s stance he wasn’t to blame for the on-set mishap that killed his wife.
Matt Hutchins said it was “absurd” Baldwin would have no responsibility for the Oct. 21 tragedy on the New Mexico set when a gun the actor was handling fired a single shot that killed Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
The widower opened up about his feelings in an interview with “Today” show co-host Hoda Kotb set to air in its entirety Thursday.
A preview clip of the interview shows Kotb ask the widower if he thinks Baldwin deserves “the majority of the blame.”
“The idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me,” said Hutchins, who is suing Baldwin and others over his wife’s death.
“But gun safety was not the only problem on that set,” he added. “There were a number of industry standards that were not practiced and there’s multiple responsible parties.”
Kotb also asked Hutchins about Baldwin’s comments during a tearful interview on ABC last year where he said he didn’t pull the trigger and a live round should never have been on set.
“I feel that someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin said at the time.
Hutchins had a harsh review for the interview, claiming it sounded like Baldwin “was the victim” in the situation.
“Watching him, I just felt so angry, just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her,” Hutchins told Kotb.
Baldwin had been seen hugging Hutchins at a hotel in the aftermath of the shooting that derailed the ill-fated Western movie, on which the actor also was serving as a producer. The actor later called the shooting the “worst situation” he has ever faced in a New Year’s message on Instagram.
The late cinematographer’s family sued the makers of the movie last month, with attorneys releasing a chilling animated video to reenact the fatal shooting.