Nearly three years after Bill Murray was accused of sexual misconduct while working on the unfinished movie Being Mortal, the comedy legend opened up about the allegations in a new interview.
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While speaking to The New York Times over the weekend, the Ghostbusters star reflected on the situation, noting it still haunts him to this day.
“I don’t go too many days or weeks without thinking of what happened in Being Mortal,” Murray said. The film was dubbed “doomed” due to the allegations.
While on the Being Mortal set, a female staff member accused Murray of behaving inappropriately towards her. Due to this situation, Searchlight Pictures eventually shelved the film.
As he continued to speak about the situation, Bill Murray stated that he knew the woman who made the complaint. She came forward with the complaint after he kissed her while they were both wearing face masks. They were following COVID-19 protocols on set at the time.
The woman was never publicly identified. She and Murray later reached a settlement.
“I tried to make peace,” Bill Murray said about the situation. “I thought I was trying to make peace.”
However, Murray explained he ended up being “barbecued.”
“But someone that I worked with, that I had had lunch with on various days of the week,” Murray continued. “It was COVID, we were all wearing masks, and we were all stranded in this one room listening to this crazy scene.”
Bill Murray Admitted He Didn’t Know What Prompted Him to Kiss the Female Staffer
Bill Murray then said they were all stranded in this one room, listening to a crazy scene.
“I dunno what prompted me to do it,” he continued. “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.”
He repeatedly noted that he was wearing a mask when he kissed the female staffer. She was also wearing a mask. “It wasn’t like I touched her,” the longtime actor said. “But it was just, I gave her a kiss through a mask, and she wasn’t a stranger.”
Murray further pointed out that the incident still “bothers” him, even years later.
“Because that movie was stopped by the human rights or ‘H & R’ of the Disney corporation,” he revealed. “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.”
He then said, “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.”
Murray went on to say he thought the whole situation was “stupid.”
“You can teach an old dog new tricks. But it was a great disappointment,” he added. “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. It’s still stupid. It’s all it was.”