Alec Baldwin hits camera away from performance artist confronting him over “Rust” shooting and Palestine

The artist known as Crackhead Barney asked Baldwin, "Why did you kill that lady?" and to say "free Palestine" before the actor swatted at the device.

Alec Baldwin was captured on camera getting into a confrontation at a New York City coffee shop with a person repeatedly telling him to say "free Palestine" and referencing the fatal Rust shooting, in footage that ended in the actor swatting down the recording device.

In a video shared Monday to the X account for Crackhead Barney & Friends, a YouTube series hosted by performance artist Crackhead Barney, who is known for ambush-style interviews, Baldwin is approached inside Maman cafe in Greenwich Village while holding his cell phone up to his right ear.

"Alec, can you please say 'free Palestine' one time?" Crackhead Barney asks, before repeatedly referencing the legal case surrounding the death of Baldwin's Rust movie cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, when a gun (being used as a prop) held by Baldwin discharged a live round. "Why did you kill that lady?" she says, "You killed that lady and got no jail time?"

"Free Palestine, Alec. Just one time, and I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you alone. I swear," she says as Baldwin approaches the door of the establishment. He then stands in front of it and tells the artist to "get out, now" and instructs the staff to "call the police."

"Come on, Alec. Just say 'free Palestine' one time. One time. Just one time, please. And I'll leave you alone," she continues. "F-- Israel, f--- Zionism. Please say it. One time."

Baldwin approaches and says, "Can you do me one quick favor?" and then quickly hits away the camera, just before the video ends.

"White devil Alec Baldwin attacked me. While I was trying to get coffeee [sic]," the Crackhead Barney & Friends X account wrote alongside the video, though a community note at the bottom of the clip reads, "The person filming this video was not 'trying to get coffee.' They repeatedly and viciously harassed Alec Baldwin and refused to leave the establishment when asked to by the staff. There is also no evidence they were attacked."

The X video has amassed nearly 10 million views as of publication of this article.

When reached for comment, a publicist for Crackhead Barney sent Entertainment Weekly the following statement on behalf of the artist: "My performance art and confrontational media is a statement about the double standards of society in the US. As the US supports Israel in the genocide of Palestinians, here at home powerful people maintain a facade of politeness and dignity while we export death and terror around the world," the statement reads. "Amid mass protests and public calls for an end to US support of Israel, the entertainment industry has been largely silent, and in some cases, even supportive of Israel’s genocide. This cannot stand, and people deserve to be confronted with the horrors our nation funds and supports. I stand with the movement for Palestinian liberation and the end of the apartheid state of Israel as we know it. Free Palestine, end the occupation, end the settlements, and end US Imperialism."

EW has reached out to Baldwin's representatives and Maman cafe for comment.

In March, Rust's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons on set, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter over Hutchins' death. Baldwin was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and will stand trail in July. He has pleaded not guilty.

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Related content:

• Prosecutors argue Alec Baldwin had 'no control of emotions' on Rust set where Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot

• Alec Baldwin charged again with involuntary manslaughter in fatal Rust shooting

• Rust A.D. breaks down in trial testimony, recalls Halyna Hutchins telling him 'I can't feel my legs'

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.