Bill Murray accused of 'straddling' female production assistant and 'kissing her on the mouth'
11 October 2022, 20:00 | Updated: 11 October 2022, 20:14
Bill Murray has reportedly paid out $100,000 to a female production assistant after allegedly straddling her and kissing her on the mouth during a film shoot.
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Mr Murray, 72, the beloved star of films like Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, was accused of "inappropriate" behaviour in April on the set of Being Mortal, which has since been suspended.
Mr Murray said at the time he thought he was being "funny" but "it wasn't taken that way".
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The latest allegations claim that Mr Murray sat on top of the younger female production assistant when they were "in close proximity" to a bed on the set, according to Puck News.
Mr Murray then allegedly kissed her on the mouth while they were both wearing masks, which was the Covid-19 protocol on set.
He said he thought he was being "playful" while the woman allegedly said she took the actions as "entirely sexual" and was "horrified".
Now he has allegedly settled with the woman after she filed an official complaint about the incident, as did another production member.
The woman also allegedly agreed to confidentiality as well as to waive any legal claims against production company Searchlight Pictures and its parent company Disney.
Mr Murray said in April: "I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way.
"The company, 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.
"But as of now, we're talking and we're trying to make peace with each other."
Production has not started up again on Being Mortal, which is directed by comedian Aziz Ansari.
It is unclear what will happen to the film, but there are precedents. All The Money In The World, a 2017 film, was halfway through shooting when allegations of sexual assault emerged against star Kevin Spacey.
Mr Spacey was fired and the entire film was reshot with Christopher Plummer in the lead role.
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This is not the first time Mr Murray has been accused of inappropriate behaviour on set.
Former co-star Geena Davis claimed in her new memoir that while on the set of Quick Change in 1989, Mr Murray "insisted" on using a massage device on her.
"I said no multiple times, but he wouldn’t relent. 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 realised with profound sadness that I didn’t yet have the ability to withstand this onslaught – or to simply walk out."
This is the latest in the wave of sexual misconduct allegations that has rocked Hollywood sexual misconduct in recent years, nicknamed MeToo.
Spacey has pleaded not guilty to four charges of sexual assault in the UK, dating back to his time as director of the Old Vic.
Former top producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape in 2020.
