On Thursday, it was reported that production on Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut Being Mortal was suspended, after a complaint about star Bill Murray surfaced.
And it opened up online discourse about Murray’s history of inappropriate behavior on set.
According to the New York Times, Searchlight Pictures reportedly sent out a letter to crew on Wednesday, saying only that it had received a “complaint,” and that “After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time.” The letter didn’t name Murray, but a source on the production confirmed it’s him, and that the complaint was for “inappropriate behavior.”
In the wake of the news, other instances of abusive and inappropriate behavior by Murray were brought up. Last year, after the story went viral, Lucy Liu discussed abuse she received from Murray on the set of the 2000 Charlie’s Angels reboot. A scene was rewritten in Murray’s absence, and when he and Liu went to film it, he started to instead “hurl insults” at Liu, and she stood up for herself.
Another story from the filming of What About Bob? alleges that Murray threw producer Laura Ziskin into a lake and threatened physical violence as well. This was included in The Hollywood Reporter editor Kim Masters’ 2000 book The Keys to the Kingdom. Ben Dreyfuss, son of Richard, claimed Murray threw an ashtray at his father on the set of What About Bob? after he complained about Murray.
Murray’s ex-wife Jennifer Butler Murray also alleged in divorce papers that he was physically abusive toward her, and once told her she was “lucky he didn’t kill her.”
Being Mortal was reportedly halfway through production when it was shut down last Friday.
We reached out to Murray’s reps and Searchlight for comment.
