Well, there’s more bad news for Alec Baldwin this week.
And once again, the story is filled with tragedy, bloodshed, and some colossal errors in judgment.
Just months after Baldwin fired the gun that killed a crew member on the set of the film Rust, the actor is being sued for an unrelated incident involving the death of a US Marine — and a humanitarian gesture gone awry.
Rylee McCollum was killed on August 26 when a bomb exploded outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The 20-year-old Wyoming native was one of 13 US service members killed in the incident.
When Baldwin learned of McCollum’s death, he sent a $5,000 check to the Marine’s widow.
Unfortunately, it seems that the money came with strings attached.
Just days before the one-year anniversary of the January 6 riots at the Capitol Building, Rylee’s sister Roice McCollum posted the photo below.
An incensed Baldwin commented on the pic, writing:
“Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit?”
“Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I’ve already had my sit down with the fbi. Thanks, have a nice day!” Roice replied.
Roice says she attended a separate protest at the Washington Monument on January 6, but Baldwin apparently took her remark as confirmation that she had participated in the riots.
“When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of real respect for his service to this country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter,” he replied.
“Your activities resulted in the unlawful destruction of government property, the death of a law enforcement officer, an assault on the certification of the presidential election. I reposted your photo. Good luck,” Baldwin ominously concluded.
Baldwin proceeded to post Roice’s photo on his page, and it seems that several of the actor’s 2.4 million followers took it as an invitation to harass her.
Lawyers for the McCollum family say that Baldwin’s followers bombarded Roice with “hostile, aggressive, hateful” messages.
“Get raped and die, worthless c— (kiss emoji). Your brother got what he deserved,” one message read, according to documents obtained by the New York Post.
“Baldwin’s conduct was negligent and reckless as he should have known that making the allegations he did against Plaintiffs to his millions of followers would cause Plaintiffs harm.”
“I think it’s worth noting, too, that his social media following … is five times the population of your state,” said the family’s attorney, Dennis Postiglione, in an attempt to put the power imbalance between plaintiff and dendants into perspective.
McCollum’s sisters, Roice and Cheyenne, and his widow, Jiennah Crayton, are seeking damages of at least $25 million for alleged defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Several outlets have reached out to Baldwin requesting a comment, but he has yet to address the situation publicly.
In all likelihood, the matter will eventually be settled out of court for a fraction of the $25 million demanded by the plaintiffs.
But this is just the beginning of Baldwin’s legal troubles.
While it’s unlikely that he’ll face criminal charges for the movie set shooting, the incident is sure to result in numerous costly lawsuits.
Which means 2022 is likely to be a year of never-ending legal drama for the actor.
