In a new, nearly 13-minute video posted to Instagram on New Year’s Day, Alec Baldwin reflected on a year that included his accidental killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his movie, “Rust,” saying he’s grateful for the kindness he’s received.
“I’ve had more people who have been kind and thoughtful and generous in spirit than I’ve had people who are malignant about the death of Halyna Hutchins,” he said in somber tones. “I’m not afraid to say that, to couch it in some euphemism. Somebody died very tragically. I’ve gotten so much goodwill from people. It’s just incredible. And a kind of alarming amount of the other stuff.”
The 63-year-old added that while it has been the “worst situation” he’s encountered in his life, and he hopes the authorities will get to the truth as soon as possible, he still found good in 2021.
“It’s New Year’s day, and I’m hopeful that this year will be better than last year. I can’t imagine it being as bad or worse than last year. Although, I look at last year and my daughter, Lucia, was born in February. So last year was a great year in spite of the problems we are facing,” he said.
Baldwin then revealed that he’s been speaking with spiritual advisors who are teaching him how to overcome negativity and “manage [his] feelings better” so that they won’t “destroy” him or “get the better” of him. “We live in a world where there’s just oceans of negativity, online and so forth, and one must find a way to manage that,” he commented.
Said Baldwin:
The one thing I do want to consider very carefully in this coming year and really push myself is in terms of trying to not allow the negativity in my life to affect me. I’ve been having some very interesting phone calls with some very interesting people who I will not name but some of them rather well-known people who deal in all kinds of behavioral, philosophical, religious, spiritual, meditation, all kinds of ways to attain a state of mind where you really short circuit all of the negative in your life.
He concluded by addressing his critics, saying he can empathize with their views. “To those people who offered me the opposite of support… I understand,” he said. “I understand where you’re coming from. It’s a tough world, and a lot of people are traumatized, and they want to pass that on to other people.”
The video marked the first time the actor has spoken of the shooting at length since his sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired on Dec. 2. At that time, Baldwin insisted that he did not pull the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins, but rather that it malfunctioned, and for that reason he does not feel guilt over her death.