Rick Leventhal DELETES Alec Baldwin costume photo out of 'respect'
Rick Leventhal says he deleted a photo of him dressed as out of ‘respect’ for late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after facing a slew of backlash the day before.
The former correspondent, 61, told why he took down the tone-deaf snap, which showed him in Western attire as Baldwin on the set of Rust, where Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed last month.
‘People twisted our outfits and intent in ways neither of us could’ve imagined and filled our page with hate,’ he told the site, also referring to wife Kelly Dodd, who was slammed for wearing a generic Native American costume.
He continued: ‘We took the post down out of respect for the victims’ families and only hope the cancel culture won’t cancel Halloween next.’
Deleted: Rick Leventhal says he deleted a Halloween photo of him dressed as Alec Baldwin out of ‘respect’ for late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after facing a slew of backlash
On set accident: Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Hutchins with a prop gun last month. He’s seen on set before the accident above
The day before Dodd and Leventhal sparked outrage for the wildly insensitive costumes.
Rick seemed to be looking for a reaction as he captioned the photo saying: ‘Kelly celebrated her native American culture and I celebrated the great American film actor Alec Baldwin.’
Despite many of Leventhal’s followers being accustomed to his controversial antics, the decision to make light of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins was a step too far.
‘A child lost his mother,’ one commented, while another wrote: ‘On the very day that a young boy buries his mother, this is in poor taste.’
Mother-of-one Hutchins was buried in a private funeral in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Friday after she was accidentally shot dead by Baldwin on October 21.
Sort of sorry: ‘People twisted our outfits and intent in ways neither of us could’ve imagined and filled our page with hate,’ he told the site, also referring to wife Kelly Dodd, who was slammed for wearing a generic Native American costume
Kelly and Rick faced a stern backlash on Instagram where the former Fox correspondent posted the image of him dressed up as Alec Baldwin. ‘A child lost his mother!’ said one comment
One comment said: ‘On the very day that a young boy buries his mother, this is in poor taste’
A follower called Elaine Rieger said: ‘Really insensitive, but no one is surprised. She will bring you down wait and see’
Before deleting the post Leventhal stood by his ensemble, telling The New York Post on Monday: ‘In no way was I trying to offend anyone, except Alec Baldwin. He’s a jerk and deserves all the heat he’s getting.’
Others were offended by his wife’s decision to wear a stereotypical Native American outfit. Dodd’s claims she is ’30 percent Native American.’
One follower wrote: ‘So talk about your heritage not mock it.. seriously? A costume? You can’t argue with stupid.’
Another said: ‘Yes the wardrobe of native Americans is beautiful but it’s not a costume n hopefully u will learn that.’
Leventhal made the post on Sunday, after which his comments section was quickly flooded with disdain for their costumes.
‘Pathetic you have to attach Alec Baldwin to this,’ one follower wrote. ‘A horrific thing happened on set and you think Halloween is the time to display such disrespect.’