Bill Murray has reportedly paid $100,000, or about €103,000, to settle a complaint by a woman on a film set that he straddled her and kissed her through a mask, as his 1980s costar Geena Davis also spoke out about his famously “difficult” behaviour on set.
In April the actor was accused of inappropriate behaviour on the set of Being Mortal, an adaptation of the book by Atul Gawande and the directorial debut of the comedian Aziz Ansari, which shut down production in April.
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The latest revelations, in a report from Puck News, allege Murray straddled a younger woman production assistant when the two were in “close proximity” to a bed on the set. He then kissed her on the mouth (though both were wearing masks, in line with Covid protocols). Murray said he was being “jestful”, while the “much younger” woman colleague said she interpreted his actions as “entirely sexual” and was “horrified”.
The woman, who has not been identified, filed an official complaint, as did a second staffer who witnessed the incident. Searchlight Pictures paused production, citing the complaint without naming Murray, while he and the woman entered mediation.
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The new report suggests they reached a settlement in which Murray reportedly paid her about $100,000 and she agreed to confidentiality as well as to waive any legal claims against the producers of Being Mortal, including Searchlight and its owner, Disney.
The 72-year-old actor admitted later in April that it was his behaviour that halted production. In an interview with CNBC, Murray described the incident as a “difference of opinion” but declined to provide specifics.
“I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way,” he said. “The movie studio wanted to do the right thing so they wanted to check it all out, investigate it and so they stopped the production.”
The allegations against Murray, a generally beloved actor once deemed a “secular saint” for his late-career resurgence, land as a number of prominent #MeToo perpetrators — Harvey Weinstein, Paul Haggis and Danny Masterson among them — are on trial for various allegations of sexual misconduct.
Production has not resumed on Being Mortal, which was about halfway complete. It could be cancelled outright or reshot, as was the case when the American comedian Louis CK was removed from the cast of The Secret Life of Pets.
The actor Geena Davis also details “difficult” onset behaviour by Murray in her new memoir. She says that while filming Quick Change, in 1989, Murray “insisted” on using a massage device on her and “knows very well the way he can behave”.
“I said no multiple times, but he wouldn’t relent,” Davis writes. “I would have had to yell at him and cause a scene if I was to get him to give up trying to force me to do it; the other men in the room did nothing to make it stop. I realized with profound sadness that I didn’t yet have the ability to withstand this onslaught — or to simply walk out.”
Davis also claims Murray verbally berated her in front of crew while adjusting her wardrobe on set. “There were easily more than 300 people there — and Murray was still screaming at me, for all to see and hear,” she writes.
On Tuesday, Davis told People magazine: “For publicity, I saw him after we made the movie, but other than that, I haven’t seen him or spoken to him.
“I figure it’s sort of rather universally known that he could be difficult to work with. And so I don’t feel like I’m busting him in a way that will necessarily shock him. I think he knows very well the way he can behave.” — Guardian
