Alec Baldwin has defended posting a caption on a photo of his wife Hilaria Baldwin and their son that fans branded “sexually suggestive”.
In the actor’s first Instagram post since it was announced that he faces an involuntary manslaughter charge over the shooting on the set of “Rust”, he posted the following caption with an image of Leo, 6, giving Hilaria a back rub: “The old ‘let me give you a back rub’ ploy.”
A flood of fans attacked the caption, with one calling it “pretty f****** weird” and another saying it was “disgusting”. Another critic said: “SexuaIising children is always so weird but your own child? Yikes.”
The 64-year-old later added the phrase to the caption: “Potato chips to follow”, in an apparent reference to how Leo’s back rub was going to earn him a treat.
He said on Sunday in the comments section alongside the photo: “I adjusted the text. I guess because … you know … there is so much of that Reddit trash out there.”
The “30 Rock” actor and Hilaria, 39, who have seven children together, have been targeted by theories on Reddit that she never carried their children but used a surrogate, and in August 2022 she defended herself against online rumours that her baby bump was fake.
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It was announced last week that Alec was facing an involuntary manslaughter charge over the shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 41, on the New Mexico set of the western in October 2021.
Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said last week that the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed would also face the same charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail.
She said: “On my watch no one is above the law and everyone deserves justice.”
Baldwin’s attorney called the charge against his client “a terrible miscarriage of justice”.
“Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” he said.
“He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds.
“We will fight these charges and we will win.”
Baldwin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the shooting and insisted he had been handed a “cold” gun – meaning it was unloaded and safe.
The actor previously insisted he did not pull the trigger when Hutchins was shot, but the FBI tested the weapon and later issued a report which concluded it would not have fired if someone hadn’t pulled the trigger.