Bill Maher Blames Focus on Covid For Rust Shooting: More Worried About ‘Germs on Their Set’ Than ‘Bullets in the Gun’

Bill Maher theorized that the real mismanagement behind the Rust film set shooting that has Alec Baldwin facing involuntary manslaughter charges was overzealous Covid protocols.

During the Sunday edition of his podcast Club Random, Maher spoke with TMZ founder Harvey Levin about a range of topics including the wild world of Hollywood. At one point in their conversation, Levin noted that his team recently covered Baldwin’s on set shooting case.

The incident took place on Oct. 21, 2021, on the film’s set location in New Mexico. Baldwin was practicing drawing his weapon for a scene — a Colt .45 revolver — when the gun suddenly went off killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Both Baldwin and the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were charged in the incident.

“The Alec Baldwin case is bullshit,” Levin said. “Bullshit, ridiculous prosecution where they’re just grabbing headlines. It is outrageous.”

“We almost always agree, which is great. And I said the same. I mean, like, I would just put it this way. Do you think Alec Baldwin purposely shot this cinematographer? If no, then what are we talking about,” Maher said.

Levin explained that reckless behavior could lead to a successful manslaughter charge, not just intent to kill. Levin, a former lawyer, also tried to compare the incident to a drunk driver killing someone — a comparison with which Maher firmly disagreed.

“Alec Baldwin is not the same thing as getting drunk, where you have culpability,” Maher said.

“He didn’t do anything,” Levin agreed. “They charged the armorer with manslaughter. Right? She’s the expert. So… if you’re saying the expert had the duty, why does an actor have to double check their work? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Maher launched into his own theory about the situation that centered on a hyper-fixation with covid protocols on set, leaving other important rules to fall by the wayside.

“By the way, what I think happened was they were so concerned about fucking — Covid masks. That’s my theory,” Maher said.

“I’m just pulling this out of my ass,” Maher clarified. “But it could be true… I think that, you know, everyone, it’s so typical of how America reacts to everything — wrong. You know, always scared of the wrong things, and they could have been so, apoplectic about everything covid. And this germs on their set that they, therefore forgot about the bullets and the gun.”

“Oh my God,” Levin laughed in shock.

“I mean, if I was rewriting this as a play, that’s what I would do, to make that point about what I think America does when it is confronted with the crisis,” Maher said.

Watch above via Club Random.

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