Just days after his first sit-down interview with George Stephanopoulos following the Rust shooting, Alec Baldwin is planning his return to Hollywood life, as he is set serve as Master of Ceremonies for NYC’s Ripple of Hope Award Gala on Thursday.
The event, put on by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, will be hosted by Kerry Kennedy, with Vice President Kamala Harris delivering a virtual keynote address. Stacey Abrams, poet Amanda Gorman, Clearlake Capital Group co-founder José E. Feliciano, Insight Partners managing director Deven Parekh and Verizon chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg will also be honored at the gala, held at New York Hilton Midtown.
Though some participants will appear via Zoom, Baldwin is set to attend in person and emcee the night, though he will not be participating in red carpet interviews. The Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award, now in its 53rd year, honors leaders across the international business, entertainment and activist communities who have demonstrated a commitment to social change and reflect Robert Kennedy’s passion for equality, justice and basic human rights.
The return to public activities comes after Baldwin deleted one of his two verified Twitter accounts over the weekend and had an emotional conversation with Stephanopoulos on Dec. 2 where he talked about the fatal shooting on the set of his film Rust for the first time.
On Oct. 21, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and Rust director Joel Souza was wounded when Baldwin, a producer and star on the Western that was filming in Bonanza City, New Mexico, discharged a gun that he believed was safe but actually contained a live round, per the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Baldwin emphasized during the ABC interview that he did not pull the trigger of the gun and did not want to wait for the lawsuits or investigations to conclude before telling his side of the story.