Alec Baldwin made a return to Saturday Night Live (SNL) in his first appearance since his trial for a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust was dismissed.
The incident occurred in 2021 when a prop gun he was holding during rehearsals fired a live round, resulting in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the case against him was dropped in July.
Despite facing a tumultuous time in his career, Baldwin hosted SNL for a record 17th time. In a recent episode, he portrayed Fox News host Bret Baier in a sketch with Maya Rudolph as Democratic US presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The duo’s comedic banter parodied a recent interview between Baier and Harris, with the two playfully interrupting each other.
The actor, known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Donald Trump on SNL, expressed relief at not having to face another trial for involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin maintained his innocence, claiming he did not pull the trigger and was unaware of live bullets being present in the gun.
The trial collapsed due to his legal team’s allegations that crucial evidence, in the form of a batch of bullets, had been concealed by police and prosecutors.
The production’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was imprisoned earlier this year after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors revealed that Gutierrez-Reed failed to notice live bullets mixed with dummy rounds, leading to the fatal accident.
