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Halyna Hutchins' Parents And Sister Sue Alec Baldwin, 'Rust' Producers
“I believe to let this go and leave this unpunished is unallowable,” Halyna Hutchins’ younger sister Svetlana Zemko said in a videotaped statement at a press conference with family lawyer Gloria Allred.
The parents and younger sister of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have filed a lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin, producers and others in connection with the fatal on-set shooting that claimed Hutchins’ life.
The lawsuit — which alleges battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of Consortium — was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Thursday on behalf of Hutchins’ younger sister Svetlana Zemko and parents Anatolii Androovych and Olga Solovey.
“It is clear to us that the relationships of all of our clients have been damaged, and that they will not be able to enjoy life in the same way as they did when their precious Halyna was alive,” attorney Gloria Allred said in statements provided to Oxygen.com. “Halyna was the light in their lives.”
Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21, 2021 during a rehearsal for the western when an antique revolver Baldwin was holding discharged and struck her in the chest. The same bullet lodged into the shoulder of director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her at the time and survived the shooting.
“At the time of the fatal incident on that day, Halyna Hutchins was standing less than four feet away from defendant Baldwin when he aimed the gun in her direction and subsequently discharged it at her without warning and without necessary and required safety precautions in place,” the lawsuit, obtained by Oxygen.com, alleges. “As a result of the discharge of the loaded gun, Halyna was fatally shot and killed.”
While announcing the lawsuit Thursday, Allred said Hutchins mother Olga Solovey, an emergency room nurse in Ukraine, was “devastated by the shocking killing of her beautiful daughter.”
She added that both mother and daughter had “depended on each other for emotional and financial support” before Hutchins’ death.
Hutchins’ had also been close to her younger sister Svetlana and served as a “second mom” to her sibling, who was seven years her junior.
Svetlana is caring for a 4-year-old child and breastfeeding an infant while her husband is off fighting in the war in Ukraine, Allred said.
“Halyna’s plan and her family’s plan was always for Halyna to bring her family to the United States so that they could be together, but now her mother and sister know that their dream to be together with Halyna, Matt and their grandson, Andros, will never happen,” Allred said. “They still hope, however, that one day they will be able to come to live in the United States and be an important part of their grandson’s life.”
Although Hutchins’ family was not present at the Thursday press conference, Allred played a video from Svetlana.
"To lose my sister at least personally for me was a horrible experience and it is one of the biggest losses of my life," she said in the video, which was dubbed from Russian into English, according to ABC News. "And even more devastating is to see the utter suffering of our parents and how their health has sharply declined."
She went on to say that the reason the family was filing the lawsuit was that they wanted “those who are at fault” to carry the responsibility for her death.
“I believe to let this go and leave this unpunished is unallowable,” she said.
Olga also appeared in the video but was too emotional to speak, Allred said.
The lawsuit alleges that safety protocols were ignored on the set that could have prevented the tragedy and accuses Baldwin of choosing “to play Russian Roulette with a loaded gun.”
Baldwin and the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — who had been tasked with handling and caring for the weapons on set — are already facing criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting.
They are scheduled to appear in court remotely for their first appearance later this month, according to The Associated Press.
David Halls, the film’s first assistant director, has entered a no-contest plea to negligent use of a deadly weapon for his alleged role that afternoon, according to prosecutors.
Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins settled a separate civil lawsuit against Baldwin and others connected to the film in October for an undisclosed amount.
As part of the settlement agreement, Matthew was named as a producer on “Rust,” which is expected to resume filming sometime in the coming months.
Baldwin has continued to insist that on the day of the shooting he believed he was holding a “cold gun,” a term in the industry used to refer to a weapon without any live ammunition. He has also said publicly that he the gun just went off and he never pulled the trigger — a contention that prosecutors have disputed.
"Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win,” Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas said last month in a statement obtained by Oxygen.com.
Baldwin’s attorneys have yet to comment on the most recent lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family.
