Alec Baldwin has made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) since the dismissal of charges related to the tragic shooting that occurred on the set of the film Rust in 2021.
The incident, in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot during rehearsals when a prop gun Baldwin was holding discharged a live round, led to him being charged with involuntary manslaughter—a charge he vehemently denied.
After a lengthy legal battle, the case was dismissed in July 2024.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his career, Baldwin returned to SNL, a show he has hosted a record 17 times.
He kicked off this week’s episode by reprising his role as Fox News host Bret Baier, in a parody of Baier’s recent interview with Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Baldwin appeared alongside Maya Rudolph, who portrayed Harris, in a humorous take on the tense interview.
In the sketch, Baldwin’s Baier humorously remarked that he couldn’t listen to his interviewee’s responses “because I’m talking,” poking fun at the interruptions during the real-life interview.
After the exchange, Rudolph’s Harris quipped, “The pleasure is neither of ours,” adding a playful touch to the scene.
Baldwin’s return to SNL was a significant moment for the actor, who in 2017 won an Emmy for his portrayal of former President Donald Trump on the same show.
Baldwin’s legal troubles stemmed from the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set in New Mexico.
Baldwin had denied pulling the trigger, claiming he was unaware that live ammunition had been placed in the gun. He described the tragedy as a “one in a trillion episode.”
The case took a dramatic turn when Baldwin’s lawyers argued that prosecutors had failed to disclose key evidence—specifically a batch of bullets—that could have shed light on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Though prosecutors argued the bullets were not directly relevant, the judge ruled that they should have been shared with Baldwin’s defense team, leading to the case’s eventual dismissal.
However, the production’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in April 2024.
Prosecutors argued that she had failed to properly check the ammunition on set, leading to the deadly mix-up between live rounds and dummy bullets.
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