The Ukrainian family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of "Rust," has sued Alec Baldwin and others involved with the film, reports the Guardian. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Hutchins’ parents, Anatolii Androsovych and Olga Solovey, and sister, Svetlana Zemko, accuses Baldwin and others, including the film’s armorer, of battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Baldwin, who faces criminal charges for his role in the 2021 death along with the film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, previously settled a lawsuit with Hutchins’ husband and son. This lawsuit is separate and aims to provide accountability and justice to her parents and sister, who depended on the cinematographer for emotional and financial support, said attorney Gloria Allred. Hutchins, 42, died in October 2021 shortly after being wounded during rehearsals on a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M. Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, had been pointing a gun at Hutchins during a scene when it went off, hitting her and wounding the director. The bullet that hit both Hutchins and the director was a live round. The killing prompted calls for greater safety on film sets.
Hutchins’ parents and sister have been devastated by the loss, Allred said, while they have been enduring the war in Ukraine. Hutchins’ mother is an emergency operating room nurse in a hospital in Ukraine. “Halyna was the light in their lives,” she said. “Of course for all of our three clients the tragic loss of their daughter and sister is heartbreaking but now in addition to this tragedy they have to try to cope with that loss while living in Ukraine in the midst of Putin’s war.” In a video, Svetlana Zemko said her sister’s death was “one of the biggest losses of my life”. The family has not received an apology from Baldwin, Allred said, or any outreach at all. “We want accountability and justice for them. It’s as simple as that,” Allred said. The lawsuit comes after Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons for the film, were criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter. Authorities allege there was a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the film set. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, who both maintain their innocence, have vowed to fight the charges.