Bill Maher accuses Alec Baldwin of ‘rust’ shooting on COVID logs

Bill Maher has suggested Alec Baldwin’s on-set prop shooting incident rust would not have happened without COVID-19 safety protocols on film sets.

In October 2021, the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot dead after a prop revolver held by Baldwin was fired. In January 2023, Baldwin and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Maher recently discussed the topic on his podcast, club random, with his guest, TMZ founder Harvey Levin.

Both men agreed that it was “outrageous” for Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case, and Maher went on to share his opinion on what he believes was the true cause of the shooting.

“What I think happened was that they were so worried about COVID masks. That’s my theory. I’m just pulling this out of my ass, but it could be true,” Maher told Levin.

Maher continued, “It’s so typical of how America reacts to everything – wrong. Always afraid of the wrong things. And t what

“Oh my god,” Levin replied after hearing Maher’s theory.

The shooting that wounded director Joel Souza took place at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. At the time, many films and TVs were returning to some normality since the pandemic began, with most of them having COVID-19 protocols in place.

Subsequent investigations into the circumstances prior to Hutchins’ filming revealed that crew members had complaints about conditions on set. These included a lack of firearm safety protocols, a lack of paramedics from the set during construction, and long work hours. One thing that didn’t seem to be a problem for the crew, Maher suggested, was the COVID-19 safety protocols. In fact, there have been concerns about adequate protection against the disease.

As Deadline reports, some of the film’s crew members quit days before filming began. A member of the camera crew listed the reasons for the exit in a private Facebook group.

“We’ve cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, having our hotels withdrawn despite asking for it in our offers, lack of COVID security and poor gun safety on top of that! Poor safety time on set!” the human wrote.

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and waived his first court appearance last month.