‘Rust’ Gun Supplier Sues Alec Baldwin Over ‘Scapegoat Smear Campaign’ in Fatal Shooting Fallout
Four years after a prop gun turned deadly on the set of “Rust,” the man behind the weapons is fighting back—legally. Seth Kenney, the supplier of the Colt .45 revolver that fired the fatal shot, has unleashed a blistering lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and dozens more, accusing them of orchestrating a nationwide “false light scapegoat smear campaign” to dodge blame for cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ death.
Rust gun supplier lawsuit is exploding in searches, with Alec Baldwin Rust smear campaign trending alongside Seth Kenney scapegoat claims and Rust shooting civil suits 2025. This latest twist in the saga—filed October 30 in New Mexico state court—targets 34 defendants, including Baldwin, convicted armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, director Joel Souza, assistant director David Halls, and even Hutchins’ widower, Matthew. Kenney’s six-page complaint paints a picture of coordinated defamation, from media leaks to YouTube hit pieces, all aimed at pinning the October 21, 2021, tragedy squarely on him.
The incident remains Hollywood’s darkest recent chapter: During a rehearsal at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, Baldwin—actor and producer—drew the revolver handed to him as “cold” (unloaded). It discharged a live .45 Colt round, striking Hutchins in the chest and wounding Souza in the shoulder. Gutierrez-Reed, 28 at the time, served 14 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter after failing to spot the live ammo amid a mix of dummies and blanks. Baldwin’s own criminal charges were dismissed in July 2024 over withheld evidence by prosecutors, but civil battles rage on.
Kenney’s suit alleges Baldwin and co-defendants “conspired to paint [him] in a nationwide false light scapegoat smear campaign” to shield themselves from scrutiny. He claims false statements—like Baldwin’s 2022 lawsuit accusing Kenney of delivering live bullets—destroyed his reputation, tanking his business and forcing him to sell assets. “This whole thing has been shit and I have been the scapegoat,” Kenney told Variety, still awaiting return of his rented gun, held as evidence without payment from the production. He also nods to a separate civil rights suit against the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, accusing them of lying for a search warrant on his PDQ Arm & Prop shop.
Background reveals a tangled web of finger-pointing. Gutierrez-Reed sued Kenney in 2022, claiming he supplied tainted ammo from a prior Nicolas Cage film, “The Old Way,” where live rounds allegedly mingled with dummies— a case she later dropped. Baldwin countersued crew including Kenney for negligence. Investigators never pinpointed the live rounds’ origin, but Kenney testified they came from Gutierrez-Reed’s father, Thell Reed, not his firm. Blanks from his company are “rattle-tested” to ensure they’re inert, he insists.
Legal eagles see this as a desperate bid for vindication. Entertainment attorney Dina Doll told TheWrap: “Kenney’s flipping the script, using defamation law to claw back his name after years as the easy villain. But with Baldwin’s charges tossed, juries might buy the ‘system failed everyone’ narrative.” On X, reactions split sharply: Supporters like @FilmSafetyNow posted, “Finally, the real story—Kenney’s no monster, just caught in crossfire,” racking up 2K likes. Critics fired back, “Scapegoat? He supplied the gun—own it,” from @HollywoodTruth, sparking heated threads.
For U.S. readers, this drags open old wounds in our entertainment economy, where film sets pump $200 billion annually into jobs from L.A. to Albuquerque. New Mexico’s lucrative tax credits—Rust snagged $30 million—now face backlash, potentially chilling indie productions wary of lawsuit minefields. Lifestyle hits home for the 2.6 million film workers nationwide: Heightened safety protocols mean longer load-ins and higher insurance, squeezing family budgets in an industry already reeling from strikes. Politically, it fuels gun control debates—live ammo on sets? A bipartisan call for federal regs echoes post-Sandy Hook. Technologically, it spotlights AI-driven ammo scanners emerging in Hollywood, promising to end “trust but verify” eras. Even sports crossovers, like Baldwin’s Yankees fandom, get awkward as celebs dodge event invites amid the noise.
User intent screams closure: Kenney seeks damages for lost income, emotional distress, and reputational harm, plus an injunction against further smears. His team manages filings strategically, eyeing Baldwin’s November 12 deposition in a separate Hutchins family suit. As discovery ramps, expect depositions to unearth emails and texts that could rewrite the “Rust” script.
In summary, Seth Kenney’s lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and the “Rust” machine spotlights a four-year blame game teetering on defamation’s edge, with reputations and millions at stake. Looking ahead, settlements may quiet the courts by 2026, but expect ripple reforms in set safety—perhaps mandating third-party ammo audits—to prevent the next hollow-point heartbreak.
By Sam Michael
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