Washington DC [US], April 6: Bill Murray recently shared details about the incident on the set of Being Mortal, which led to the movie being shut down due to allegations of his on-set misconduct. Speaking to The New York Times, as reported by Variety, Murray disclosed that he was accused of “inappropriate misconduct” during filming.
The actor explained that the incident took place during the COVID-19 pandemic while the cast was wearing masks and confined to a single room. He recalled a moment where he kissed a female colleague through their masks, which he thought was a harmless joke. “It wasn’t like I touched her, but it was just, I gave her a kiss, and she was wearing a mask. It wasn’t like a big thing,” Murray said.
However, Murray admitted that the incident, which he still believes was lighthearted, caused serious consequences. Shortly after, production on Being Mortal was halted due to complaints from “human rights or ‘H & R'” at Disney, which he described as more strict than other countries’ protocols. “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?” he added.
The actor expressed his disappointment over how the situation was handled, mentioning that it escalated to an arbitration process, which he described as flawed and unfair. “It went to this lunatic arbitration, which, if anyone ever suggests you go to arbitration: Don’t do it,” he warned.
Despite the fallout, Murray maintained that he thought the moment was funny and lighthearted. “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,” he said.
Murray is now focused on his upcoming project, The Friend, directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel. The film follows a New York City writer, Iris (played by Naomi Watts), whose quiet life is disrupted by a great dane named Apollo, inherited from her late mentor.
In April 2022, production on Being Mortal was indefinitely suspended following the complaint regarding Murray’s on-set behaviour.