In October 2021, while filming the movie "Rust," actor Alec Baldwin was practicing with a revolver on set when it accidentally fired a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In April 2023, New Mexico prosecutors decided to drop involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor, who maintained that he did not actually pull the trigger but rather the gun discharged after he pulled the hammer back and released it.
Filming for "Rust" resumed on April 20, 2023, and appeared to wrap a few weeks later, with Baldwin posting a selfie of his clean-shaven face, after removing the facial hair he had kept for his character in the film.
One Twitter user shared a purported screenshot of the selfie, claiming that the caption below it read, "God, it felt good to shoot that bitch."
This caption is false. We went to Baldwin's verified Instagram page and found the same post with the caption, "God, it felt good to shave off that beard …"
The screenshot posted on Twitter had clearly been edited with a new caption that placed responsibility on Baldwin for Hutchins' death. If the post had been edited after it was uploaded, it would have stated "Edited" below the new caption.
While the charges against Baldwin had been dropped, charges remain against the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Prosecutors argued that she did not adequately check the ammunition that she loaded into the gun, and she allowed live rounds onto set.
Given that the original post from Baldwin's Instagram account had a completely different caption, and that there was no evidence it was edited, we rate this claim as "Miscaptioned."