Alec Baldwin Sued by Family of Marine Killed in Afghanistan

01/21/2022 01:49 pm EST

Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of a marine killed in Afghanistan after the actor allegedly engaged in a social media feud with the soldier's widow. TMZ reports that Baldwin is being taken to court by the family of Rylee McCollum — one of the 13 United States service members who were killed in an August bombing outside of the Kabul airport during the Afghanistan U.S. troop withdrawal. McCollum's family claims that Baldwin sent his widow a monetary donation of $5,000, after the bombing but, when he discovered that McCollum's sister was present at the U.S. capitol on Jan 6., 2021, he "falsely accused" her of being a "rioter" and engaged in a social media campaign against her.

Per TMZ, the lawsuit points to an Instagram comment Baldwin posted on a photo shared by McCollum's sister, which was taken in Washington D.C. the day of the riot. "Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister's husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?" reads the comment in a screenshot of the post. The family claims that Baldwin then began arguing with McCollum's sister via Instagram DM, and at one point told her that he "reposted" her photo, adding, "Good luck." The family is now accusing Baldwin of instigating online bullying against them and hoping to resolve the matter in front of a judge. At this time, neither Baldwin nor his legal team appear to have publicly commented on the lawsuit.

The new legal situation comes months after the on-set Rust shooting Baldwin was involved in, which is still under investigation. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust on Oct. 21, after a prop gun that Baldwin was holding, discharged. The gun was initially not believed to be loaded with live rounds. In addition to Hutchins' death, the incident also wounded the film's director, Joel Souza. 

Following the incident, Baldwin released a statement on Twitter, and later he spoke to a group of photographers who were inquiring about the incident. "A woman died," he told the group, per Deadline. "She was my friend. She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened."

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