Bill Murray’s on-set allegations continue to rock Hollywood: A look at his long history of celebrity feuds
The veteran actor has been hit with a wave of new allegations. Here's a look back at some of his most famous feuds with Chevy Chase, Lucy Liu and other Hollywood stars.
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Bill Murray has recently been hit with a barrage of on-set misconduct allegations.
In April, production on the 72-year-old actor's Aziz Ansari-directed film "Being Mortal" was halted indefinitely after a female production staffer filed a complaint accusing Murray of "inappropriate behavior."
In the wake of the film's suspension, a growing number of celebrities have spoken out about their own unpleasant experiences with Murray.
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In her new memoir "Dying of Politeness," Geena Davis alleged that Murray had behaved inappropriately with her when the two co-starred in the 1990 crime comedy "Quick Change."
Bill Murray is facing a wave of new allegations. (Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
GEENA DAVIS CALLS OUT BILL MURRAY FOR BEHAVIOR WITH MASSAGE DEVICE: ' I SAID NO MULTIPLE TIMES'
The actress recalled her first meeting with Murray, which she described how he "insisted" on using a massage device he called "The Thumper" on her despite her repeated refusals.
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Davis also recounted an instance in which the "Groundhog Day" star screamed at her on the film's set in front of "more than 300 people." She wrote that Murray made her uncomfortable during a joint appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show" when he tried to pull down the spaghetti strap of her dress multiple times.
Geena Davis alleged that Bill Murray had behaved inappropriately with her when the two co-starred in the 1990 crime comedy, "Quick Change." (Photo by Toni Anne Barson/WireImage)
Days after Davis' allegations went public, Rob Schneider claimed that Murray "absolutely hated" the "Saturday Night Live" cast when he guest-hosted the NBC comedy sketch series in the 90s.
"He wasn’t very nice to us," Schneider said of Murray during an appearance on SiriusXM’s "The Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show."
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The stand-up comic said that Murray, also an "SNL" alum, particularly despised cast members Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. Schneider said that he "really hated" Adam Sandler and was "just seething looking" at Chris Farley.
Rob Schneider claimed that Bill Murray "absolutely hated" the "Saturday Night Live" cast when he guest-hosted the NBC comedy sketch series in the 90s. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Less than a week after Schneider's claims, Seth Green alleged that Murray dangled him by his ankles and dropped him in a trash can on the "SNL" set in 1981 when Green was nine years old.
During an appearance on the "Good Mythical Morning" show, the actor recalled how Murray made a "big fuss" when he spotted Green sitting on the arm of a sofa, which the "Lost In Translation" star had designated as his chair.
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After Green refused to move from the chair, he claimed that Murray picked him up by his ankles and held him upside down. "He dangled me over a trash can, and he was like, 'The trash goes in the trash can,'" Green alleged.
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"I was screaming," he remembered, "and I swung my arms and flailed wildly, full contact with his balls, full contact. He dropped me in the trash can, the trash can falls over. I was horrified. I ran away, hid under the table in my dressing room, and like just cried and cried."
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Seth Green alleged that Bill Murray dangled him by his ankles and dropped him in a trash can on the "SNL" set in 1981 when Green was nine years old. (Rodin Eckenroth)
Green said that "SNL" cast members Eddie Murphy and Tim Kazurinsky comforted him in his dressing room after the traumatic incident.
"They were like, 'Hey, everybody knows Bill's a d--k,'" Green said.
Murray has not publicly commented on the accusations made by Davis, Schneider or Green.
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Long before the latest allegations, the Emmy award-winner had a reputation for being difficult on-set, according to his co-stars, and a storied history of clashing with his fellow actors.
Here's a look at some of Murray's most famous celebrity feuds:
Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase and Bill Murray notoriously came to blows in 1978 on the set of "SNL." (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Chevy Chase and Murray notoriously came to blows in 1978 when Chase, one of "SNL's" original cast members, returned as a guest host during Murray's run on the show.
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According to the book "Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live," the backstage brawl began after the two started insulting one another, per Page Six.
Murray allegedly told Chase, now 79, "Go f--- your wife, she needs it." At the time, Chase and then-wife Jacqueline Carlin were having marital difficulties. Chase then allegedly taunted Murray over his acne scars, telling him that his face looked "like something Neil Armstrong landed on."
The fight escalated to a physical altercation with the duo trading punches until they were pulled apart. John Belushi was said to have jumped between Chase and Murray, and the incident was also witnessed by cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner
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During a 2021 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Newman said that the fight was "very sad and painful and awful."
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However, the fight was mostly brushed under the rug, and the comedians would go on to star together in the 1980 movie "Caddyshack".
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In a 2012 interview with Empire, Murray said that the fight stemmed from Chase's abrupt departure from "SNL".
"Because we all felt mad he had left us, and somehow I was the avenging angel, who had to speak for everyone," he said. "But Chevy and I are friends now. It’s all fine."
Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu said she confronted Bill Murray when he began to "hurl insults" at her during the filming of "Charlie's Angels." (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
While preparing to film "Charlie's Angels," Murray allegedly took issue with his co-star Lucy Liu.
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During an interview on the "Asian Enough" podcast, the 53-year-old actress shared that during a rehearsal, Murray began to "hurl insults" at her that she said "kept going on and on," per The Hollywood Reporter,
Liu explained that she was taken aback and confronted Murray over whether he was talking to her directly.
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"It was unjust and it was uncalled for. Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it," the actress said.
"So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it." Liu went on to say she had seen her former co-star at an "SNL" reunion, and he was "perfectly nice" to her.
"But I’m not going to sit there and be attacked," she added.
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Harold Ramis
Bill Murray and his close friend and frequent collaborator Harold Ramis were estranged for decades after an on-set dispute. (Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images)
Murray's close friendship with his frequent collaborator Harold Ramis was shattered after the two had a heated creative dispute on the set of "Groundhog Day." The fight led to an estrangement between the pair that lasted for decades.
In her 2018 book, "Ghostbuster’s Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis," Ramis’ daughter Violet said that the two did not speak for over 20 years, leaving her father "heartbroken, confused and yet unsurprised by the rejection."
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According to Page Six, the duo was able to reconcile before Ramis passed away in 2014. One day, Murray showed up unannounced at Ramis' house with a box of doughnuts, the outlet reported. While the ailing Ramis could no longer speak due to his failing health, his former co-star spent a few hours at his home.
Anjelica Huston
Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston had a falling out when they co-starred in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
Murray and Anjelica Huston had a falling out when they co-starred in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou."
"The first week I was there, we were all in this little hotel, and he invited the entire cast to go and have dinner, except me," the actress recalled in an interview with Vulture in 2019. "And everyone came down for dinner, a little dog-faced about my not being invited, and they were all like, ‘Oh, you know, we don’t really want to go.’ That was worse than anything."
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Huston, now 71, said she was "really hurt" by the ordeal and said that when they met again in Florence, Murray told the star that he had missed her.
"I said, "You’re full of s---. You didn’t miss me.’ He looked all confused for a moment," she said.
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However, Murray later made amends with Huston when he attended the funeral of Huston's husband Robert Graham in 2008.
"He couldn’t have been nicer that day," Huston recalled. "He showed up. A lot of people didn’t."
Richard Dreyfuss
Bill Murray's "What About Bob?" co-star Richard Dreyfuss called him a "drunken bully." (Photo by Michael Tullberg)
Murray's "What About Bob?" co-star Richard Dreyfuss called him a "drunken bully" in a 2019 Yahoo! interview.
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"Bill just got drunk at dinner," he remembered. "He was an Irish drunken bully, is what he was."
The Oscar-winner recounted one such dinner during which he asked Murray to read a change in the movie's script.
"He put his face next to me, nose-to-nose. And he screamed at the top of his lungs, 'Everyone hates you! You are tolerated!'" Dreyfuss, now 74, claimed. "There was no time to react because he leaned back and he took a modern glass-blown ashtray. He threw it at my face from [only a couple feet away]. And it weighed about three-quarters of a pound."
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"And he missed me. He tried to hit me," Dreyfuss alleged. "I got up and left."