Hilaria Baldwin hit the streets of New York City on Friday (Jan. 20) wearing an emerald green sweater bearing the word “EMPATHY” across the front. The fashion choice came a day after Hilaria’s husband, Alec Baldwin, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the 2021 incident on the set of the movie Rust that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead. Hilaria, 39, made her coffee run in the green sweatshirt, a pair of black leggings, fuzzy slippers, and dark shades.
Hilaria’s appearance seemed to be a ploy to distract reporters gathered outside her and Alec’s Greenwich Village home, according to the New York Post. She emerged to tell the crowd that she would give a statement and reportedly told the crowd to gather around her. As she did, Alec supposedly slipped from a side door to a waiting van. “I’m only gonna say it once. I’m going to tell you what I want to say. I want you guys to realize we have seven kids,” his wife said as Alec reportedly made his getaway.
“You being here [when I have to] escort them to school and when they come home — is not good,” said Hilaria. “On a human level, you guys know I’m not going to say anything to you. You know that. So please leave my family in peace. And let this all play out. OK? So let my kids come home, and you stay away from them. Because they ask me, ‘Mommy, what are these people doing?’ And it’s a very hard thing, as a mom, to try and explain. So please, go home. I am not going to say anything and Alec is not going to say anything.”
This green sweatshirt marks the second Hilaria sighting following Alec being charged over the shooting accident that killed Hutchins and injured Rust director Joel Souza. Alec allegedly “discharged” a prop gun on the set of the Western film. The 30 Rock star has said that he “didn’t pull the trigger” of the prop gun and claimed the weapon went off in his hand. Prop armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who oversaw the fatal weapon, was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Assistant director David Hall took a plea agreement for negligent use of a deadly weapon and will receive six months of probation and a suspended sentence.
Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed have been “charged in the alternative,” meaning that a jury will decide which count of involuntary manslaughter they will face if found guilty. If found guilty on the first charge, Alec and Hannah will face up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. If found guilty of the second charge, which includes a firearm enhancement, they could face a mandatory five-year sentence.
“I think he could put up a plausible defense,” Criminal defense and appellate attorney Matthew Barhoma, founder of Barhoma Law and Power Trial Lawyers, told HollywoodLife about Alec’s upcoming legal nightmare. “He’s made multiple statements, including even talking about whether he had pulled the trigger. That is going to be a point of contention now for him. Another factor is going to be his likability. I think that his credibility and likability are out the window. It’s been a little bit shattered. From a defense perspective, they are going to have to rebuild a lot. And that can be difficult.”