Alec Baldwin has fired back at claims that the Rust set was unsafe in a lengthy message on social media.
The 63-year-old US actor, who accidentally fired a loaded gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in late October, shared multiple screenshots on Instagram of a message from his colleague TereseMagpale Davis – who worked in the wardrobe department on the Western film.
Captioning his post, "Read this", Magpale Davis can be seen saying that the narrative surrounding the film's disregard for safety was "bullsh*t", after multiple cast and crew spoke out about a relaxed attitude onset.
"We had several safety meetings. Sometimes multiple times per day. Our AD (assistant director David Halls) never seemed flippant about safety," Magpale Davis wrote.
"He may have in other shows, but he wasn't like that on ours. Obviously he screwed up majorly on that day. He was stressed because the camera walkout had put us an hour and a half behind and he made the most horrible call he could make.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin. Photo / AP
"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. 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."
The camera walkout Magpale Davis is referring to was a series of camera crew workers who had walked off the New Mexico set only hours before the fatal incident, protesting about poor pay, working and accommodation conditions.
Magpale Davis dubbed the workers who left the set "jerks", saying they "only cared about themselves".
"We never worked more than a 12.5-hour shoot day. That was once," she argued. "Most days were under 12. No one was too tired to do their jobs.
"The camera crew HAD hotels. They just didn't feel like they were fancy enough.
"They tried to renegotiate their contracts halfway through the show and hold the producers over a barrel by walking out. They literally said they deserved more money and NICER hotels than the rest of the crew because they were BETTER. These guys are not heroes."
She added: "These producers who supposedly don't care about their crew have worked tirelessly alongside us. They were some of the most approachable and warm producers I've ever worked with.
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe. Photo / AP
"Even these camera jerks were being heard and they were given what they asked for so many times until it became too much."
Magpale Davis also commented on armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for handling weapons for the actors.
"The armourer had apprenticed to a well-known armourer and had been in the same position on the same type of movie in a few months before," she added.
"Was she the most experienced person? No. Were her qualifications typical for a Tier One? Yes.
"You can say what you want about even lower tiers needing qualified people and I will agree. But how do you suppose anyone will get that experience?"
Officials have so far refused to rule out charges against Baldwin over the shooting, only saying that he is "an active part of this investigation".
