Piers Morgan accuses Alec Baldwin of ‘Hollywood arrogance’ amid Rust shooting charges

Piers Morgan has commented on the news that Alec Baldwin will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

It was announced on Thursday (19 January) that Baldwin is one of three cast and crew members facing charges over the accidental killing of Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in 2021.

Baldwin’s attorney has issued a statement to The Independent in response to the news, calling it “a terrible miscarriage of justice” that “distorts Halyna Hutchins’s death”.

Follow along for live updates about the Rust charges and Alec Baldwin here.

Morgan was among the first public figures to respond to the news, speaking about the charges during Thursday night’s (19 January) episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored.

The former Good Morning Britain presenter appeared to welcome the charges brought against Baldwin.

“There was no doubt that it was an accident but Halyna Hutchins died, leaving behind a grief-stricken husband and a young child and the person holding the gun that fired a bullet and killed her was Alec Baldwin,” said Morgan.

“It was him who did that, who fired a bullet into his co-worker’s body and snuffed out her life. Nobody else’s hands were anywhere near the gun.”

The 57-year-old continued: “Since that tragic day, Baldwin has been the epitome of Hollywood arrogance.”

Morgan accused Baldwin of “embark[ing] on a woeful, self-pitying PR tour, that felt cynically designed to make people feel he was just as much a victim as the woman he killed”.

“He’s repeatedly spewed indignant denial of responsibility to his millions of followers on social media and in a succession of television interviews,” said the presenter.

Morgan went on to air footage from a December 2021 interview that Baldwin gave to ABC News, during which the actor says that he does not feel guilt over the incident.

“No, no,” says Baldwin in the interview. “I feel that someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is but I know it’s not me.”

Commenting on the clip, Morgan stated: “No guilt at all, even though he was literally holding the gun that fired the bullet that killed this woman. Not a shred of personal responsibility, accountability or guilt.”

Morgan also showed footage from an interview that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies gave to press in which she states that as part of their investigation into the case, they spoke with “many actors, A-list and otherwise, that have said they always check their guns, or they have someone check it in front of them so an actor doesn’t get a free pass just because they’re an actor”.

Morgan agreed with the DA’s comments, adding: “That’s what I hear from actors, too. They all check. If they’re firing a firearm in any capacity on a movie set, they all check just for their own sake never mind anyone else’s. There’s no live ammunition or anything wrong with this weapon they’re using.”

He concluded: “Alec Baldwin has done a lot of talking, a lot of self-protective talking, a lot of spinning, a lot of denial of any accountability or responsibility.”

The husband of Hutchins has called the charges a “comfort to the family”.

“We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law,” said Matt Hutchins.