Geena Davis claims Bill Murray insisted on using massaging device on her during ‘bad’ audition in hotel suite and later screamed at on set: ‘I should have walked out’
- Murray was both her co-lead and the co-director of the 1990 crime comedy Quick Change
- Davis, 66, wrote about her experiences with the 72-year-old in her new memoir
- She claims the actor forced her to use a massage device during her audition
- Later, he screamed at her on set because she was allegedly late
- Last year, Lucy Liu accused him of repeatedly insulting her on Charlie’s Angeles
- His film Being Mortal was shut down in 2021 due to his ‘inappropriate behavior’
Geena Davis has detailed her unpleasant experiences working with Bill Murray on their 1990 crime comedy Quick Change in her new memoir Dying Of Politeness.
The 66-year-old acting icon revealed on Friday to The Times of London how Murray allegedly created an uncomfortable atmosphere during her audition for the film, which he starred in and also co-directed with Howard Franklin.
According to her, Murray, 72, also screamed at her in front of ‘hundreds’ of people on set because she was allegedly late, though she says she was merely delayed by the wardrobe department.
Bad time: Geena Davids, 66, wrote in her memoir Dying Of Politeness about her terrible experiences working with Bill Murray on their 1990 crime comedy Quick Change; seen in 2019 in LA
According to a Times summary, ‘[Davis is] introduced to [Murray], she writes, in a hotel suite, where Murray greets her with something called The Thumper, a massage device he insists on using on her, despite her emphatically refusing.’
The concerning encounter was followed up by a more humiliating incident when the Royal Tenenbaums actor allegedly lost his temper while filming Quick Change.
‘Later, while they’re filming on location, Murray tracks Davis down in her trailer and begins screaming at her for being late (she’s waiting for her wardrobe), continues to scream at her as she hurries onto the set and even as she gets there, in front of hundreds of cast, crew, curious passers-by,’ the publication added.
‘That was bad,’ Davis said of her audition with Murray as she mused about how she might have handled the incident differently.
Hard time: She wrote that Murray — who also co-directed the film — used a massage device on her against her will during her audition, and he later screamed at her in front of ‘hundreds’ of people on set for allegedly being late; still from Quick Change
Unacceptable: ‘The way he behaved at the first meeting… I should have walked out of that or profoundly defended myself,’ she told The Times of London, before admitting that she was victim blaming; seen September 12 in LA
‘The way he behaved at the first meeting… I should have walked out of that or profoundly defended myself, in which case I wouldn’t have got the part. I could have avoided that treatment if I’d known how to react or what to do during the audition. But, you know, I was so non-confrontational that I just didn’t…’ she said.
However, she conceded that her words could be construed as victim blaming when it was pointed out to her.
‘Ha. Point taken. There’s no point in regretting things, and yet, here I was regretting. And yes, exactly, it wasn’t my fault,’ she said.
So far, Murray has not responded publicly to Davis’ remarks, either in the interview or in her book.
A pattern: Last year, the actress Lucy Liu also described the verbal abuse Murray allegedly threw at her while they worked together on the action comedy Charlie’s Angels; seen in July 2021 in Cannes, France
Last year, the actress Lucy Liu also described the verbal abuse Murray allegedly threw at her while they worked together on the action comedy Charlie’s Angels.
‘As we’re doing the scene, Bill starts to sort of hurl insults, and I won’t get into the specifics, but it kept going on and on,’ she described on the Asian Enough podcast.
The film and television star, who called the former Saturday Night Live star’s insult ‘unacceptable’ and ‘inexcusable,’ added that she ‘was not going to just sit there and take it.’
‘So, yes, I stood up for myself and I don’t regret it. Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there’s no need to condescend or to put other people down. And I would not stand down, and nor should I have,’ she added defiantly.
Murray’s alleged behavior on set appears to have put the fate of his upcoming film Being Mortal in jeopardy.
On hold: In April 2021, his film Being Mortal was suspended due to a complaint about his allegedly inappropriate behavior. He stars with director Aziz Ansar, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer; Murray, Randy Quaid and Davis seen in Quick Change
In April 2021, Searchlight Pictures suspended production on the film, which was being directed by Aziz Ansari, due to complaints about Murray’s inappropriate behavior on set, though no details were offered up about what he had allegedly done or who was affected.
The film is reportedly still on pause, and it’s unclear if it will ever be finished at this point.
The film, which also starred Ansari, Keke Palmer and Seth Rogen, was shopped around for a potential new buyer earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, but it doesn’t appear to have found a new studio, according to Rolling Stone.
‘I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn’t taken that way,’ Murray said while speaking to CNBC later in April.
Changes: He added that the experience has been ‘quite an education for me,’ before noting that, ‘world is different than it was when I was a little kid’; seen in February in Pebble Beach
‘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,’ he explained. ‘
But as of now, we’re talking and we’re trying to make peace with each other. I think that’s where the real issue is, between our peace. We’re both professionals. We like each other’s work. We like each other, I think, and if you can’t really get along and trust each other, there’s no point in going further working together or making a movie as well.’
He added that the experience has been ‘quite an education for me,’ before noting that, ‘world is different than it was when I was a little kid.’
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