Bill Murray Finally Breaks Silence On Misconduct Claim
The allegations of Bill Murray's on-set misconduct have gotten to be increasingly troubling for the actor. After production on the film "Being Mortal" was indefinitely suspended on April 18 due to complaints of starring actor Murray's inappropriate behavior (per Deadline), scrutiny fell upon Murray's alleged past of misconduct. Everything from Murray's highly-publicized feud with his "Charlie's Angels" costar Lucy Liu to his alleged domestic abuse of ex-wife Jennifer Butler resurfaced. Butler filed for divorce in 2008, alleging in her filing that Murray had struck her in the face, per The Baltimore Sun.
In the days following Murray's misconduct reports, Ben Dreyfuss, son of Murray's "What About Bob?" costar Richard Dreyfuss, tweeted some shocking claims about the set of the 1991 comedy. After Richard allegedly complained to higher-ups about Murray's treatment of film producer Laura Ziskin, Ben claimed the "Ghostbusters" star "threw an ashtray" at his father. Things escalated such that "Disney hired some bodyguards to physically separate my dad and Bill Murray in between takes," Ben wrote.
With "Being Mortal" only halfway-filmed, and Murray's involvement in the alleged misconduct still unclear, the veteran actor has now spoken out for the first time on the wave-making claims about his behavior.
Bill Murray calls on-set incident a misunderstanding
Bill Murray says he is on a path to self-betterment. In an interview with CNBC on April 30, the comedy icon gave his side to the inappropriate behavior allegations on the set of "Being Mortal." "I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way," Murray explained, elaborating that he and an unnamed female coworker had a "difference of opinion." According to Murray, he and the colleague are currently "talking and "trying to make peace with each other."
While Murray didn't specify the nature of his actions, an inside source previously told Page Six that he had gotten too "hands-on touchy" for crew members' liking. "Not in any personal areas, but [Murray] put an arm around a woman, touched her hair, pulled her ponytail — but always in a comedic way ... some women felt uncomfortable and he crossed a line," the source claimed.
Murray has described the experience as "quite an education" to CNBC, opening up about his desire to change. "I think it's a sad dog that can't learn anymore," he said. "I don't want to be that sad dog and I have no intention of it." Murray, who stars in "Being Mortal" alongside Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer and Seth Rogen, further expressed his "happiest" hope would be "to put my boots on and for both of us to go back into work and be able to trust each other."