New Mexico authorities decided yesterday to charge 64-year-old Kid Rock star Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter for the Oct. 26, 2021 shooting death on the set of “Rust” of 42-uyear-old cinematographer Halnya Hutchins. PR expert Erick Schiffer said his indictment was a “bad day for Baldwin’s brand” when Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reed announced their long-awaited decision to pursue charges. “He’s going to face justice for what should never have happened.and this is an incident that will cause him to be in the short-term a future pariah in Hollywood,” said Schiffer. Baldwin’s problem is that he granted so many interviews after the fatal shooting that he’s left a record that’s going to haunt his defense attorney to make any rational argument when Baldwin already told the world what happened.
Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas called New Mexico’s decision to charge him with manslaughter a “terrible miscarriage of justice and that Baldwin had “no reason to believe there was a live bullet ion the gun—or anywhere on the movie set,” repeating the same flawed logic that practically guarantees conviction. Miscarriages of Justice happen after faulty verdicts, not before the case is heard by a jury. But with Baldwin telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he didn’t pull the trigger, it’s made convincing a jury all the more difficult. What’s his attorney going to say, that he didn’t realize he actually pulled the trigger or that he only pulled back the hammer. Or that whatever happened that fateful day on the Rust set, he was told the gun was “cold,” no live ammo in the chamber? Most juries would have their heads spinning with all the past smoking blowing by Baldwin in national TV.
Even crisis communication or damage control expert Schiffer said Baldwin’s claim that he didn’t pull the trigger a “big lie,” that “was not only horrifyingly dumb but defies gun physics,” saying Baldwin would have a hard time selling his story to the jury. Despite all the obstacles, Schiffer still thinks Baldwin can eventually salvage at least some of his career because the public has a short memory. “He will enter a rarely disclosed black list for the time being until this gets resolved,” Schiffer said, not sure whether a guilty verdict in New Mexico would make things worse. Crisis expert Evan Nierman, CEO of Global Crisis PR Firm Red Banyan and author of “Crisis Averted,” said the “charges alone do not signal an immediate end to his career.” Conviction on manslaughter charges would certainly set things back, requiring more acts of contrition on Baldwin’s part to get beyond the crisis.
Crisis and damage control are not rocket science but Baldwin, so far, has not done enough to put himself in the public’s good graces. Baldwin made the cardinal mistake thinking he could get ahead of the crisis by granting high profile TV interviews, like the one with Stephanopoulos. Unlike most defense attorneys, crisis experts sometimes think exculpatory explanations can convince the public that Baldwin did nothing wrong. But instead to trying the case in the court of public opinion, Baldwin made his legal defense far more complicated. Unfortunately for Baldwin and the set’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who certified the gun safe, New Mexico’s involuntary manslaughter charge doesn’t require intent to commit bodily harm. Involuntary manslaughter only involves convincing a jury that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed engaged in negligence on the set.
Balwin’s attempt to excuse his culpability has made things much worse for the multimillionaire Kid Rock actor, who really doesn’t have to work another day in his life. But, like most people with active careers, they want to go out on their terms, not blackballed by the industry. Schiffer thinks Baldwin “hurt himself in unimaginable ways especially with the public, who has, for some time, wondered how he ever allowed this to happen, and who wondered why any adult would think it would be okay to aim a gun at anyone,” said Schiffer. Gun safety laws require gun handlers to know what’s in the chamber, to inspect it personally. Baldwin claimed he was innocent because he was told the gun was “cold,” had no live ammunition in the gun. But that ultimate inspection lies with anyone handling a lethal weapons before point it and pulling the trigger. Baldwin’s denial that he pulled the trigger won’t sit well in court.
Damage control requires total control over the narrative following regrettable incidents. Most egregious incidents can be helped with an effective damage control strategy but only if perpetrators listen to expert before they shoot off their mouths in public. Baldwin thought he could control the narrative by giving his own version of the events but only made matters worse for himself. Crisis and damage control experts can only do so much when clients make unforgivable blunders. Baldwing telling Stephanopulos that he didn’t pull the trigger dug himself into a bigger hole because it just made no sense to anyone. Blaming the incident on Gutiierrez-Reed and producer David Halls made Baldwin look cavalaier, insincere and trying to deceive the public. “He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds,” said Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
