Hilaria Baldwin has responded to her husband Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting charges, which were dropped this week.
As previously reported, the 64-year-old actor was formally charged in early February with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act over the incident, which saw 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins accidentally shot with a prop gun on the set of the movie Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin has maintained that he had not been aware that the prop gun he was holding had been loaded with live rounds and, as he was rehearsing scenes in front of the camera, the gun discharged and fatally wounded the cinematographer.
The 30 Rock actor had vowed to fight the charges, with his lawyer calling them a "terrible miscarriage of justice," per Sky News, before they were ultimately dropped.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer who was responsible for weapons on the Rust set, was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. At the time, legal experts believed that prosecutors would have great difficulty convicting Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin without proof that the pair knew the gun had live ammunition but failed to take precautions.
The Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies made a statement about the charges, saying: "Actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. I have determined that there is sufficient evidence [...] On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice," per BBC News.
On Thursday this week (April 20) Sky News reported that, despite Santa Fe prosecutors initially seeking two involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin, all criminal charges were dropped, according to sources.
In response to the development, Baldwin's lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement: "We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident."
Following the news, Baldwin's wife Hilaria, 39, subsequently took to Instagram to post a photo of herself sitting on his lap and cuddling him.
Baldwin himself posted an image of the pair to his own account, thanking his wife - and mother to seven of his eight children - and lawyer in the caption.
Hundreds of netizens took to the comments section to congratulate the pair, like this person who wrote: "Thrilled that the charges have been dropped! Happy that your sweet family can take a breathe and leave the charges behind. I know the loss of your friend will not disappear from your heart. Again YAY for you."
However, many other users expressed their frustration at the situation. "I haven't seen any remorse for the death you caused only the celebration that you won't have to serve in prison. That's telling," someone wrote.
Filming on Rust is set to resume this week.
