Alec Baldwin served as master of ceremonies at a human rights event in New York City Thursday night, marking his first public appearance since the Oct. 21 fatal shooting on the film set of

_Rust_. The actor, 63, spoke during the Ripple of Hope Award Gala hosted by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights nonprofit, saying, "Thank you for all coming out tonight. It's great

to be together in person. It's great to be with everyone. My wife and I have six kids, anything to get out of the house for 30 minutes," which earned laughter from the audience.

Baldwin, who attended the event with his wife Hilaria Baldwin, paid homage to Bobby Kennedy as he introduced the late politician's daughter Kerry Kennedy to the stage. FOR MORE ON ALEC

how really, really touched I am that Alec Baldwin came here to be with us." "Alec and I met at a cocktail party in New York in the 1980s and a few weeks later I called him and

asked him to attend a tournament. He said yes," she recalled, before listing a series of public engagements in service to human rights that Baldwin had agreed to support throughout the

years. "He's been saying yes ever since. I think you must have missed the terrible twos because you just don't know how to say no," she joked. "He's there.

He's there in good times and bad, in your good times and bad and his good times and bad, he always shows up. I'm so proud." The event was attended by 750 people, all of whom

provided proof of vaccination and negative COVID-19 tests. RELATED VIDEO: ALEC BALDWIN SAYS WIFE HILARIA GAVE HIM 'A REASON TO LIVE' AFTER FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE RUST TRAGEDY

Baldwin's public appearance comes after ABC News aired an emotional sit-down interview with the star, who got candid about the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while

making the Western film. Baldwin was holding the gun that discharged and killed Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza, though he said he did not pull the trigger. During the

interview, Baldwin said he "would go to any lengths to undo what happened," though he explained why he doesn't feel guilt in the deadly incident: "Someone is responsible

for what happened, and I can't say who that is, but I know it's not me." Baldwin also recently deleted his Twitter account, though he remains active on Instagram. _NEVER MISS

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Vice President Kamala Harris was keynote speaker for the evening, appearing virtually to address attendees. The annual event honors "exemplary 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, basic human rights and his belief

that each of us can make a difference." This year's honorees were Stacey Abrams, Amanda Gorman, Deven Parekh (managing director of Insight Partners), José E. Feliciano (co-founder

and managing partner of Clearlake Capital Group), and Hans Vestberg (chairman and CEO of Verizon).