Bill Murray was ‘devastated’ by misconduct allegation

Aziz Ansari has recalled how “devastated” Bill Murray was to be accused of sexual misconduct.
The 42-year-old comic was three-quarters of the way through filming his directorial debut Being Mortal in April 2022 when a female production assistant accused the 74-year-old actor of “inappropriate behaviour”, causing production to be shut down following an internal investigation, but Aziz is still hopeful that he’ll be able to complete the movie eventually.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: “He was devastated. He couldn’t believe it happened. I think this movie meant a lot to him.”
While Aziz’s friends were sympathetic over the shutdown of his film, he didn’t want to feel sorry for himself so instead focused on another potential script, asking Seth Rogen – who he had cast in Being Mortal – to read a rough draft of what became Good Fortune, which hits cinemas in the coming weeks.
He recalled: “Everybody’s texting me, ‘Oh, Aziz, I’m so sorry’. And I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t live in this woe-is-me moment.’
“And so I called Seth. I said, ‘Hey, I know you’re supposed to be filming Being Mortal, so you’re free today. This is a shitty day for me. If you want to help me, read this, tell me if you want to do it.’ “
Just two hours later, Seth called and agreed to be part of Good Fortune.
Meanwhile Bill – who reportedly agreed a settlement of just over $100,000 to his accuser in October 2022 – recently admitted he felt “barbecued” by the experience, despite his attempts to “make peace” in the wake of the incident.
He told the New York Times newspaper in April: “I don’t go too many days or weeks without thinking of what happened. … 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.”
The Ghostbusters actor believes he has learned from what happened, though he still insisted he has just done something he thought was “funny” and “stupid”.
When asked whether he thought he’d learned anything from the experience, he said: “I think so. You can teach an old dog new tricks.”
“But it was a great disappointment, because I thought I knew someone, and I did not.
“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.”