Hilaria Baldwin Slams 'Online Mob' Driving People To Suicide After Response To Alec's Rust Shooting

Hilaria Baldwin is assuming a new role: mental health advocate.

The expecting momma has been very protective and defensive of her husband Alec Baldwin in the wake of the Rust shooting. The incident put her family at the center of a media circus, forcing them to endure a tidal wave of scrutiny and criticism — not for the first time obviously, but on a whole new level for sure. So, when she speaks about online bullying, she definitely knows what she’s talking about.

Following the full Rust investigation files being released on Monday — and Alec’s self-proclaimed exoneration — the 38-year-old took to her Instagram Stories to condemn cancel culture. She said:

“When you see somebody getting attacked by the online mob or any kind of cancel culture, instead of scrolling past, or worse, getting involved, reach out to them and just tell them that you support them as a human. You don’t have to agree with them 100%. You don’t have to even understand what they’re attacking them for.”

Um… OK, but… Sometimes people are being attacked by “cancel culture” because they cheated on their spouse or said something super racist or got busted with child porn. We’re all for more understanding and empathy generally, but this idea of sending support to everyone who’s being criticized no matter what is not it. “Hey, insurrectionists, we got your back”? “Don’t let the haters get you down, Josh Duggar“? We don’t think so. There are limits, is all we’re saying.

Anyway, she continued by discussing what the social media pile-on is doing to people, saying:

“This idea of nitpicking and having partial information and taking things out of context…or even when people completely disappoint you. It is not for us to come to be judging everybody all the time. It’s absolutely impossible to make absolutely everybody happy and to be in alignment with everybody. We’re more divided than ever. But I can tell you that this kind of attack is mental torture. As humans, we are not built for it. We’re driving each other crazy.”

The fitness instructor concluded:

“We’re driving people to the place where they want to commit suicide. Where they’re losing their mental health. And this is not fair. It’s not good. So reach out to them, and just tell them that you’re thinking about them to try to stabilize them.”

This is a grave message for Hilaria to deliver. Online harassment has been linked to suicide and self harm time and time again. And while she didn’t specifically reference Alec’s struggles in the aftermath of the shooting, it’s impossible to separate this message considering the constant criticism the 30 Rock alum has gotten, including from the former president of all people.

She has previously addressed his mental health struggles more explicitly. Back in December 2021, she revealed on IG:

“My husband is suffering from PTSD right now. It’s not from what just happened recently, but he’s been suffering from this for a very very very long time. And these people know this and they want to poke at him. They want to upset him. And then they want to create news about this. So if you create a new story then the next day there’s going to be tons of paparazzi and there’s going to be more stories that come off of that and there’s more clicks and more shares and money, which is ultimately what this is all about.”

More recently, she shared another message about suicide prevention — which you can watch below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hilaria Thomas Baldwin (@hilariabaldwin)

Is she trying to tell us that Alec is having thoughts of self-harm? Because that is truly awful. Obviously what he went through on that set is something no human should ever experience. He clearly hasn’t handled it that well publicly. But for certain people to accuse him of murder for political gain? Despicable.

Of course, the Mom Brain podcast host also has first-hand experience being at the center of a media firestorm, after her faux-Spanish heritage scandal. So, the topic of online bullying is likely very close to her heart. Regardless of how you feel about the Baldwins, this is absolutely an important message for us all about the toll of the social media pile-on.

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, someone is there to help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

[Image via Hilaria Baldwin/Instagram]