Bill Murray is currently making headlines for his behavior on the set of his new movie. On April 22, Deadline reported that production on the film Being Mortal was suspended after a complaint was made against Murray, alleging inappropriate behavior. What the specifics of the allegation have not yet been shared publicly. Searchlight Pictures, the movie’s production company, is currently looking into the situation and told Deadline that it does not comment on ongoing investigations. Best Life has reached out to a legal representative for Murray for comment but has not received a response.
This is not the first time an incident involving Murray has surfaced from the set of a film. Rumors circulated for years that Murray did not get along with one of his Charlie’s Angels co-stars when he played Bosley in the 2000 movie. And, last year, the rumors were finally cleared up by the other actor involved. Read on to find out more.
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There’s been gossip for years that Murray insulted Charlie’s Angels co-star Lucy Liu while they were working together. As reported by the Independent, one rumor would have it that Murray pointed to Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Liu and said of them in order, “I get why you’re here, and you’ve got talent… but what in the hell are you doing here. You can’t act!'” It was also said that, in response to this, Liu began throwing punches at Murray.
When the rumors resurfaced on Twitter in 2021, a production assistant tried to set the record straight, as reported by ET Canada. Shaun O’Banion claimed on Twitter that Murray tried to rewrite some scenes without telling everyone, which upset some of the cast and crew. Liu spoke up about it, and according to O’Banion, Murray told her she shouldn’t complain because he gave her more lines. He also supposedly said, “You’re TV… and this is the big league.” At the time, Liu was starring on Ally McBeal. She then supposedly swore at Murray and stormed off.
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In July 2020, Liu appeared on the Los Angeles Times‘ Asian Enough podcast and opened up about filming Charlie’s Angels with Murray. Liu’s story was different from what O’Banion shared. She said that she, Barrymore, and Diaz had reworked a scene during a rehearsal that Murray didn’t attend, and when they were actually filming the scene, he got upset.
“As we’re doing the scene, Bill starts to sort of hurl insults, and I won’t get into the specifics, but it kept going on and on,” Liu said. “I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me.’ I couldn’t believe that [the comments] could be towards me, because what do I have to do with anything majorly important at that time? I literally do the look around my shoulder thing, like, who is he talking to behind me? I say, ‘I’m so sorry. Are you talking to me?’ And clearly he was, because then it started to become a one-on-one communication.”
Liu went on to say that “some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable” and that she wasn’t “going to just sit there and take it.” She did not go into specifics about how she responded to Murray.
In a 2009 interview with The Times of London (via Entertainment Weekly), Murray was asked about the incident with Liu and said, “Look, I will dismiss you completely if you are unprofessional and working with me…When our relationship is professional, and you’re not getting that done, forget it.”
Liu doesn’t hold a grudge against Murray. On the Asian Enough podcast, she said, “I have nothing against Bill Murray at all. I’ve seen him since then at a SNL reunion, and he came up to me and was perfectly nice. But I’m not going to sit there and be attacked.”
She added, “I remember after that time, what came out in the press was that I was this and I was that. It was incredible to me how it was turned around and they automatically thought that the woman was the difficult one … But I didn’t understand how it got flipped when I had nothing to do with instigating it or creating that platform of confrontation or anxiety.”
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