OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Very troubling details have emerged regarding the tragic shooting involving actor Alec Baldwin while on a movie set.
The shooting took place on the set of the movie “Rust” and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident.
Prior to the shooting, six union camera crew workers walked off the set due because they had concerns, including safety conditions of the workplace.
A source informed the LA Times that necessary safety checks were not strictly enforced on set.
A camera operator specifically complained about gun safety on set the weekend prior, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A text message from a crew member to the production manager eerily stated, “We’ve now had three accidental discharges. This is super unsafe.”
The text message was verified by the LA Times.
These workers were replaced by nonunion staffers in order to avoid production delays.
A search warrant affidavit from the sheriff’s office confirmed that Baldwin was handed the gun by an assistant director Dave Halls.
Halls told Baldwin the gun was “cold,” meaning that it did not contain any live rounds, but this was false.
CNN reported that Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun at the time of a fatal incident.
CNN reports that actor Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun at the time of a fatal incident on a New Mexico film set. pic.twitter.com/jDiqsOps8Q
— KFI AM 640 (@KFIAM640) October 25, 2021
More from Western Journal:
People clearly noticed there were dangerous red flags that led up to the horrific situation, but it seems like nobody cared until it was too late.
In the entertainment industry, there is often an intense culture of hierarchy where concerns raised by those lower of the totem pole are less likely to be taken seriously.
Based on the fact workers made the decision to leave, this set could have been a hostile work environment that only cared about the needs of the higher level actors and production team…
In addition, Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also named in the search warrant. She had mentioned in a podcast interview last month that she did not feel qualified at first to be overseeing firearms on the set of the Nicolas Cage film “The Old Way”.
“I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but doing it, it went really smoothly,” she said, according to the Daily Mail.
“Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” said a spokesman for the movie’s production company, the Journal reported.
Incidents like these are incredibly rare, but a work environment that prioritizes speed over safety creates communal incompetence and negligence.
Investigators will hopefully continue to get more details to determine exactly what went wrong in the moment that ended Hutchin’s life.
