Alec Baldwin facing backlash for 2017 tweet questioning 'how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone'

close

Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for October 22

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.

Actor Alec Baldwin is facing criticism for a 2017 tweet he posted in which he questions "how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone."

On Thursday, Baldwin, 63, was at the center of a Hollywood tragedy that unfolded on the set of the movie "Rust." Authorities said that Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza was identified as the crew member taken to the hospital. He has since been released, "Rust" star Frances Fisher claimed on Twitter.

Twitter users are now zeroing in on Baldwin's past social media activity and one glaring tweet he posted on Sept. 22, 2017 reads: "I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone..." The tweet also included a link to a Los Angeles Times article about a Huntington Beach police officer who was captured on video struggling with a suspect in a parking lot of a convenience store before shooting the man several times, killing him.

"this did not age well," one Twitter user wrote on the thread of Baldwin's tweet.

ALEC BALDWIN PROP GUN SHOOTING: 'RUST' DIRECTOR JOEL SOUZA RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL, FRANCES FISHER SAYS

Another appeared to jump to Baldwin's defense, however, writing: "2 completely different situations."

"Wow there really is a tweet for everything," said another.

ALEC BALDWIN SPOTTED ‘IN TEARS’ AFTER 'RUST' MOVIE SET SHOOTING LEAVES 1 DEAD, 1 WOUNDED

A spokesperson for Baldwin said there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

"Generally you don't aim a gun at anyone you don't want to die. too bad you never learned that," another person reacted.

"Those of us who lived in Wilmington NC during production on ‘The Crow’ say hi," wrote another, referencing the death of Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, who died during filming years ago after being shot by a prop gun.

"Hey @AlecBaldwln how does it feel now? Should we start comparing you to Norman Bates like you did other people now?" another criticized.

"The irony..I feel so bad for Alec and may that woman Rest In Peace," another reacted.

"I wonder how it must feel to be the suspect in a homicide?" another questioned.

BRANDON LEE'S FAMILY REACTS TO ALEC BALDWIN'S PROP GUN SHOOTING ACCIDENT

Halyna Hutchins, director of photography on "Rust," has died after being injured in a shooting accident. (Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)

Another tweet Baldwin wrote about Dick Cheney's hunting accident has resurfaced. In 2006, the then-vice president accidentally shot and injured someone while hunting.

Back in 2015, the actor tweeted to someone, "You hook your friends with that line? Shoot em in the face? Cheney style?"

One Twitter user shared the now-resurfaced tweet, writing, "I'm not a Cheney fan, to put it mildly, and this is the way Baldwin believed shootings should be described and discussed."

Another quipped on Thursday: "This aged well."

"We're all curious, @AlecBaldwIn___. Did you shoot em in the face? Cheney style?"

Sheriff’s deputies responded about 2 p.m. to the movie set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch after 911 calls described a person being shot on set, said Juan Rios, the Sante Fe County Sheriff's Department spokesman. The ranch has been used in dozens of films, including the recent Tom Hanks Western "News of the World."

"This investigation remains open and active," Rios said in a statement. "No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives."

A spokesperson for Baldwin said there was an accident on the set involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks. Rios said detectives were investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged. 

ALEC BALDWIN DISCHARGED PROP GUN THAT KILLED ‘RUST’ CREW MEMBER ON FILM SET: AUTHORITIES

Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, the sheriff's department said. Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. According to actress Frances Fisher, Souza told her he was released from the hospital.

Hutchins, a 2015 graduate of the American Film Institute, worked as director of photography on the 2020 action film "Archenemy," starring Joe Manganiello. She was named a "rising star" by American Cinematographer in 2019.

"Rust" director Joel Souza was injured on set and later released from from the hospital.  (Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

After the fatal accident, a reporter and a photographer from The Santa Fe New Mexican said they saw Baldwin "in tears."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Baldwin teamed up as a producer previously with Souza on the 2019 film, "Crown Vic," which starred Thomas Jane as a veteran Los Angeles police officer on a manhunt for two violent bank robbers. Souza's first credited film, 2010’s "Hanna’s Gold," was a treasure hunt adventure featuring Luke Perry.

Production was halted on "Rust." The movie is about a 13-year-old boy who is left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s' Kansas, according to the Internet Movie Database website. The teen goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather (played by Baldwin) after the boy is sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.