In a new interview with CNN (via Variety), Baldwin opened up about the toll that Trump’s accusations took on him and revealed that he even feared for his safety when he saw what Trump’s most violent supporters were capable of. “The former president of the United States said [I] probably shot her on purpose,” Baldwin said. “To me, that was the only time I was worried about what was going to happen. Here was Trump, who instructed people to commit acts of violence, and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death.”
Baldwin said that the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol showed him just how much influence Trump has over his supporters, and was afraid that the former president’s remarks could prompt a similar attack against him. “A bunch of people were instructed by the former president to go to the Capitol, and they killed a law enforcement officer,” he said. “They killed somebody. You don’t think I thought to myself, ‘Are some of those people going to come and kill me?’” In the wake of the accident, there was discussion about whether his role as a credited producer on the film meant accepting responsibility for the poor safety protocols on set. Baldwin has since dismissed those arguments. In a late 2021 interview, the actor explained that safety and logistics were outside his purview as a producer on “Rust.” “I am a purely creative producer,” Baldwin said. “My authorities as a producer are casting and script, which are actually married to the role of being a lead actor in a film. There are basically two types of producers who are really in charge of production: people that raise the money and the people who spend the money. My consultations or approvals were completely about casting and about the script. I don’t hire anybody in the crew.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
