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Actor Alec Baldwin made a huge crisis communications gaffe by claiming he would “never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger” during a recent interview with ABC news anchor George Stephanopoulos, Red Banyan CEO and Evan Nierman told Leland Vittert on NewsNation’s “On Balance” show. Evan is a crisis PR expert and author of the bestselling book, “Crisis Averted.”

Baldwin’s interview with ABC illustrates why crisis PR interview preparation is essential and timing is of the essence. Read on for further crisis response analysis:

Alec Baldwin Crisis Communications Analysis

Teaser clips of Alec Baldwin’s full interview have sparked a firestorm of speculation in advance of the full Stephanopolous interview to be aired on Dec. 2nd. 

Baldwin has been in the news since he accidentally shot and killed Photography Director Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21^st on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico. Director Joel Souza was also injured when Baldwin’s gun went off. The tragedy has been an ongoing crisis PR disaster, leading many to analyze the Alec Baldwin crisis management response/ Alec Baldwin crisis communications efforts.

Alec Baldwin Crisis Response: How Not To Conduct an Interview

Evan told Vittert that Baldwin’s “sitting down (for the Stephanopoulos interview) and saying the things he said … proved to be a huge error in judgment.” 

“The idea that he would … go in so unprepared boggles the mind,” Evan said in the NewsNation interview. “It is mind-boggling that he would say he would never pull the trigger. Does he actually believe that or is this some craven, crass legal strategy so he can evade culpability for it?”

Evan noted that Baldwin did a good job of portraying that he was emotionally impacted by the tragedy but also pointed out that Baldwin is a gifted actor.

“It’s easy for critics to say this is a guy who can cry on command,” Evan told Vittert.

Alec Baldwin Crisis Response: Questions to Expect Going Forward

• How did the gun fire if Alec Baldwin didn’t pull the trigger, as he claims?
• Is Alec Baldwin positioning himself as the victim?
• Is the Alec Baldwin crisis management strategy working?
• Was the “I didn’t pull the trigger” tactic a legal strategy designed to avoid legal culpability
• Why did Alec Baldwin wait a month to say he didn’t fire the gun?
• Did Alec Baldwin permanently hurt his brand?
• What should Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Thomas Baldwin do next?

Watch the full interview with Nierman’s analysis on NewsNation here.