Bill Murray claims he was “barbecued” over sexual misconduct allegations
Bill Murray has claimed he was “barbecued” over misconduct allegations made against him on the set of the unreleased 2022 film Being Mortal.
Murray was accused of sexually harassing a young female crew member by kissing her nonconsensually through a mask, owing to Covid-19 protocols, during the production. However, this incident then led to the film, directed by Aziz Ansari, being suspended.
Now, the actor has attempted to defend his actions in an interview with The New York Times, saying that he “ended up being, to my mind, barbecued” for the incident.
He explained: “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.”
Murray added: “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.”
It comes after a host of other allegations have been made against Murray by other actors including Geena Davis and Richard Dreyfuss, relating to other incidents of sexual harassment as well as violence.
In response, he said: “When someone has an episode like mine on Being Mortal, the world goes searching for more proof that this person is a monster. An absolute monster.”
Murray then tried to reason that: “Well, I’ve had interactions with hundreds of thousands of people over 40, 50 years. Now, you can come up with half a dozen. If you really worked, you’d probably come up with a couple dozen.”
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.