A professional film key grip sounded off Thursday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" after avowed gun rights opponent Alec Baldwin was charged in connection with the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of his film "Rust."
Stu Brumbaugh, who previously worked with members of the "Rust" crew, told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that many times, the actors who are most politically invested against or ignorant about firearms are the ones who rely most on them in their films.
"In my industry, we deal with a lot of firearms scenarios. Obviously, we've got a lot of Hollywood people that will vilify firearms, and then end up on their TV shows and movies and glorify them in those instances. And, you know, it's just the hypocrisy of it," he said.
"I try and be professional on set, but you run into those instances where you watch somebody make statements on their TV shows or their interviews [about guns] and then you see them on the sets working, and they're trying to be, you know, using the firearms. It's just comical."
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Host Tucker Carlson asked Brumbaugh his thoughts on people like Baldwin, who "think guns are evil" but then glorify their use in film.
Despite Baldwin's stated aversion to guns and gun rights, many of his most memorable roles involve firearms as a central aspect – notably his run as CIA agent Jack Ryan in the 1990 film adaptation of Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red October" and two recent installments of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.
"I'm sure the paychecks far outweigh their feelings towards firearms," Brumbaugh replied, adding he grew up around guns as a native Montanan and outdoorsman – remarking many people like Baldwin don't understand firearm mechanics on a basic level.
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"[Many H]onest, hardworking citizens … love guns. And, you know, my guns have never harmed anybody or never been in the hands of anybody that would do harm. And, you know, you just look at those scenarios and then you kind of have to keep quiet on these movie sets and end up working with these individuals."
Brumbaugh hinted that many of the background professionals like himself hold polar opposite views on many issues like guns than the headliners and actors they work with.
"But of course, we're not making the $10 million paychecks. So, you know, we're just there to do our job and do it to the best of our ability," he said.
For his part, Baldwin has long been an anti-Second Amendment activist – frequently sparring with gun rights advocates and joining initiatives that take on the Virginia-based National Rifle Association – which is often recognized as the most prominent pro-Second Amendment organization.
In 2018, Baldwin joined a celebrity coalition, No Rifle Association (NoRA), whose goal was to shine a light on the National Rifle Association's alleged hold on the United States government.
"We’re going to shine a bright light on what you and your organization do to America," the NoRA Initiative wrote in a 2018 letter to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
"We’re going to make sure the whole world sees your bloody hands. We’re coming for your money. We’re coming for your puppets. And we’re going to win."
One of the figures that has been subjected to Baldwin's ire was conservative radio host and Second Amendment proponent Dana Loesch, who he previously attacked on Twitter, invoking "dead bodies."
"And she doesn't care how many dead bodies she has to step over in that pursuit. The Second Amendment is not a moral credit card that buys you all the guns you want. That law needs to be rethought."
After Hutchins' death, Loesch reportedly struck a more civil tone than the actor, tweeting that "after all the crazy s--- Alec Baldwin has said to and about me, I'm going to have more grace than him right now and leave it at that."
Fox News' Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
