Getting Nervous? Days After 'Rust' Interview, Alec Baldwin and Wife Delete Twitter Accounts
In the wake of an emotional interview that Alec Baldwin had with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous, Baldwin deleted one of his Twitter accounts.
Baldwin has two verified accounts on Twitter and, as of Sunday evening, his verified @alecbaldwin account was deleted, as The Hollywood Reporter noted. The actor’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin, also deleted her Twitter account following the interview, according to the New York Post.
During the October filming of “Rust,” a low-budget western film that Baldwin was acting in and producing, a gun that Baldwin was holding discharged a live round, according to The New York Times. Director Joel Souza, who was behind the camera, was hit in the shoulder and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally hit in the chest.
On his official, now deleted, Twitter account, Baldwin first broke his silence after the incident with an official statement.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin tweeted, the New York Post reported. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.”
But after that, Baldwin was largely silent — until the ABC interview.
In the interview with Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said he was speaking out publicly in order to share the events of the tragic day and correct some of the misconceptions that have been floating around.
“I think that there is a criminal investigation, that could be a while. There is all kinds of civil litigation, and I felt that there were a lot of misconceptions,” Baldwin said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The sheriff’s department hasn’t even released a report to the DA yet … I feel like I can’t wait for that process to end.”
During the interview, the actor went through the timeline of events leading up to the accident and then the accident itself.
Baldwin said he was handed the gun and told it was cold, meaning no live rounds were in it. But then when he cocked the gun, he said, a live round was fired.
“I pulled the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the gun,” Baldwin said. “I let go of the hammer and bang, the gun goes off.”
“Everyone was shocked. … The gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun. She goes down, I thought to myself, did she faint?”
“The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me until 45 minutes or an hour later,” Baldwin added.
After the interview, there was a lot of debate over whether it was really wise for the actor to publicly speak out like this in the midst of an ongoing investigation.
One legal expert told Insider that this interview was a risky move, especially since the circumstances surrounding Hutchins’ death are still unknown.
“Alec Baldwin has made a super risky move by agreeing to this interview, especially because he’s taking an absolute position on how the gun was fired,” Los Angeles personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio told Insider.
Others on social media began harshly criticizing Baldwin for this public appearance, accusing him of being fake.
“[I’m] side eyeing Alec. I’m not buying what he is selling. #BaldwinABC,” one person said on Twitter.
Im side eyeing Alec..I’m not buying what he is selling. #BaldwinABC pic.twitter.com/1zw7ngnwcN
— Petty Pablo (@electricsoul123) December 3, 2021
Another user tweeted, “How did Alec Baldwin’s lawyers allow him to do this interview? This is nothing but a clout chasing performance. We should be centering the victim, not him. #BaldwinABC.”
How did Alec Baldwin’s lawyers allow him to do this interview? This is nothing but a clout chasing performance. We should be centering the victim, not him. #BaldwinABC
— puzzlecurtains? (@puzzlecurtains) December 3, 2021
In light of so much criticism, it’s no surprise that Baldwin’s social media accounts are being deleted or restricted.
“Other Twitter accounts associated with Baldwin have also gone dark or been set to private, with the account of the actor’s foundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) and his wife’s account (@HilariaBaldwin) restricting access to approved followers only since early November following Baldwin retweeting Rust crew member Terese Magpale Davis’ statement denying an unsafe work environment on the production,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Though little is known about the investigation still going on, Baldwin is, at the very least, among those involved in civil litigation over the death of Hutchins, Fox News reported.
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