Bill Murray Defiantly Blasts Sexual Misconduct Probe Over Unwanted Kiss That Led to $100,000 Payout and Doomed One of His Movies
Murray made a surprise appearance at Sundance Film Festival.
April 8 2025, Published 3:09 p.m. ET
Bill Murray has blasted that sexual misconduct probe over that famous unwanted kiss.
RadarOnline.com can reveal how the actor's masked kiss back in 2022 on a movie set eventually led to sexual misconduct allegations that eventually shut down the film.
Murray said he's been 'lazy' in recent years but is now 'searching for material' to revive his career.
Murray, 74, opened up about the incident in a new interview with the New York Times.
As previously reported, a female staff member who was working on the film Being Mortal accused the Hollywood actor of behaving inappropriately with her.
The film, directed by Aziz Ansari, ended up being shelved by Searchlight Pictures.
Murray said: "I don’t go too many days or weeks without thinking of what happened in Being Mortal."
Murray explained that he knew the woman involved in the incident and that they were wearing Covid-19 protocol masks.
Eventually Murray and the unknown woman reached a settlement, and she was never identified.
Murray said of the incident: "I tried to make peace. I thought I was trying to make peace. I ended up being, to my mind, barbecued."
The actor confessed he enjoys playing characters who have 'done some damage.'
He said the incident still "bothers" him today, before he added: “But someone that I worked with, that I had had lunch with on various days of the week — it was Covid, we were all wearing masks, and we were all stranded in this one room listening to this crazy scene. 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."
Murray continued: "Because that movie was stopped by the human rights or 'H & R' of the Disney corporation, which is probably a little bit more strident than some other countries’.
"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? There was no conversation, there was nothing. There was no peacemaking, nothing.
"It went to this lunatic arbitration, which, if anyone ever suggests you go to arbitration: Don’t do it. Never ever do it. Because you think it’s justice, and it isn’t."
Bill Murray said he prefers portraying 'messy characters' who have 'done some damage.'
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Murray admitted the whole experience was "stupid" before he added: "But it was a great disappointment, because I thought I knew someone, and I did not."
He claimed he thought the kiss would would "light" and "funny" in the moment – but in the interview, he said: "It's still stupid."
Despite being one of Hollywood's most famous comedians with many blockbuster films on his resume – this wasn't the first time he was accused of "bad behavior" on a movie set.
