Bill Murray has looked back on an incident of alleged inappropriate behaviour on a film set in a new interview.
In April 2022, production on the comedy Being Mortal – roughly half of which had been shot under Disney’s Searchlight Pictures – was suspended. It was reported at the time that Murray would be investigated for his alleged inappropriate behaviour, however details surrounding the allegation itself were kept under wraps.
In October of that year, a report by Puck claimed the incident involved Murray “kissing” and “straddling” an unnamed female member of the production. Production on the film has not resumed, and the same report claims that Murray and his accuser reached a settlement. Murray said in a statement at the time: “I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn’t taken that way”.
Speaking to The New York Times, he gave his recollection of the incident: “Yeah, I can say what happened. I think I’m allowed to” he said. “Someone that I worked with, that I had had lunch with on various days of the week — it was Covid, we were all wearing masks, and we were all stranded in this one room listening to this crazy scene”.
He continued: “I dunno what prompted me to do it. It’s something that I had done to someone else before, and I thought it was funny, and every time it happened, it was funny. I was wearing a mask, and I gave her a kiss, and she was wearing a mask. It wasn’t like I touched her, but it was just, I gave her a kiss through a mask. And she wasn’t a stranger”.
Reflecting on the aftermath, he told the outlet: “It still bothers me because that movie was stopped by the human rights or ‘H & R’ of the Disney corporation, which is probably a little bit more strident than some other countries’”.
“It turned out there were pre-existing conditions and all this kind of stuff. I’m like, what? ‘How was anyone supposed to know anything like that?’ There was no conversation, there was nothing. There was no peacemaking, nothing. It went to this lunatic arbitration, which, if anyone ever suggests you go to arbitration: Don’t do it. Never ever do it. Because you think it’s justice, and it isn’t”.
When asked by The New York Times if he learned from the experience, Bill Murray replied: “I think so. You can teach an old dog new tricks. But it was a great disappointment, because I thought I knew someone, and I did not. I certainly thought it was light. I thought it was funny. To me it’s still funny, the idea that you could give someone a kiss with a mask on. It’s still stupid. It’s all it was”.
The post Bill Murray reflects on inappropriate misconduct set incident: “I thought it was funny” appeared first on NME.