Alec Baldwin under new pressure: George Clooney says he should have checked gun, conservatives call for arrest

George Clooney said he doesn’t know Alec Baldwin well, doesn’t believe he or anyone else on the set of “Rust” intended “to do anything wrong” and calls the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins “a terrible accident.”

However, Clooney raised new questions about Baldwin’s actions on the set of the low-budget Western, both as the actor handling the gun that killed Hutchins on Oct. 21 and as one of the film’s producers.

In an interview on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, the Oscar winner called Hutchins’ death “infuriating,” given strict gun safety protocols put in place on film and TV sets following the deaths of his friends, actors Jon-Erik Hexum and Brandon Lee in 1984 and 1993, respectively.

“Every single time I’m handed a gun on the set — every time — they hand me a gun, I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I’m pointing it too, I show it to the crew,” Clooney said. “Every single take.”

Clooney, who has worked as an actor and director on film and TV sets for 40 years, continued, “Part of it is because of what happened to Brandon. Everyone does it. Everyone knows” that is the protocol to follow.”

Clooney’s comments came as the outspokenly liberal Baldwin has been the target of growing conservative anger, particularly on Monday with the murder trial of teen shooter Kyle Rittenhouse.

As attorneys made their closing arguments, many conservatives shared memes that drew Baldwin into Rittenhouse’s case. They posted photos of prosecutor Thomas Binger demonstrating how Rittenhouse allegedly pointed his rifle at others during street unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020.

Lauren Boebert, a GOP congress member from Colorado, was among those who accused Binger of unsafely handling the gun during his demonstration and tweeting “this is how you Alec Baldwin someone.”

Candace Owens and others also called for Baldwin to be arrested and painted him as more dangerous and culpable than Rittenhouse, who has claimed he killed two people and wounded a third in self-defense.

Authorities in Santa Fe County, New Mexico have not ruled out filing criminal charges against Baldwin or others in Hutchins’ death.

The attacks from Owens and Baldwin’s other political enemies prompted his younger brother, Daniel Baldwin, to say in an interview Monday that the actor has been made a scapegoat in the “Rust” shooting because he’s a big star and because he is outspoken and “strong-headed” in his political views.

That may be true, but questions about Baldwin’s actions also are coming from others, such as Clooney, who share Baldwin’s politics. However, Clooney tried to come across as sympathetic to Baldwin while talking to Maron, and to sound as if he wasn’t directly criticizing the  “30 Rock” star.

Nonetheless, Clooney, 60, suggested that Baldwin, 63, should have checked the Colt .45 himself after he was given the gun to use to rehearse a gunfight scene.

Hutchins, 42, was killed, and director Joel Souza, 48, wounded, when Baldwin pointed the gun in their direction and it discharged. Assistant director Dave Halls had told Baldwin the gun was safe but later admitted to police he had not fully checked it for live rounds.

Clooney said he wouldn’t have just taken someone else’s word that the gun was safe.

“Maybe Alec did that (checked the gun himself) — hopefully he did do that,” Clooney added. “But the problem is dummies are tricky because they look like real (rounds). They got a little tiny hole in the back (from which) somebody’s (removed) the gunpowder.”

Clooney said he would have taken yet another step to ensure the gun was safe. “I mean every time I get handed a six-gun,” or a gun that holds six cartridges, “you point it at the ground and you squeeze it six times,” he said. Clooney noted that “it’s just insane” not to.

Clooney also said he has never heard the term “cold gun,” which is what Baldwin reportedly heard from Halls to indicate the gun was safe.

“I’ve never heard the term ‘cold gun,’” Clooney said. “I’ve never heard that term. Literally. They’re just talking about stuff I’ve never heard of. It’s just infuriating.”

Clooney furthermore questioned whether “Rust” producers “skimped” on costs, given that the film had employed 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez Reed to serve as its head armorer. Gutierrez Reed had worked as an armorer on just one other major film.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department has said in court documents that prop master Sarah Zachary removed the  gun from a locked props truck and gave it to Gutierrez Reed, Yahoo reported. The armorer loaded it with rounds from a box of dummies, but one of the rounds was apparently a live round. Investigators are trying to learn how a live round ended up on the film set.

Gutierrez Reed said she showed the gun to Halls, who has admitted he didn’t thoroughly inspect it before giving it to Baldwin, Yahoo added.

Clooney’s experience with using guns on film sets was echoed by another veteran star, Matthew McConaughey, last month.

Like Clooney, McConaughey didn’t want to sound like he was criticizing Baldwin, but in an interview with AFP, the Texas-based Oscar winner said he “personally would try to always take even more steps” as an actor using a gun, including checking the weapon himself.

“You can’t over-confirm it,” McConaughey said.

McConaughey also argued that real guns can safely be used on movie sets so long as protocols are followed. His comments come as calls have grown to ban real firearms from film and TV sets.