Bill Murray has said he ‘thought it was funny’ to kiss his co-workers before he received a complaint while working on Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut.
In 2022, the Lost In Translation star, 74, was accused by a female crew member of straddling her and kissing her through a face mask, an incident which he described as a ‘difference of opinion.’
The alleged misconduct took place while Murray was filming Being Mortal, which has since been cancelled.
He ended up paying the woman $100,000 (£77,669) in a settlement, and has since opened up on how the incident was handled.
‘I tried to make peace. I thought I was trying to make peace. I ended up being, to my mind, barbecued,’ he said.
The Ghostbusters actor told The New York Times: ‘But someone that I worked with, that I 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.’
He said it was something he had ‘done to someone else before’ and that he ‘thought 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 Zombieland star continued.
‘It still bothers me, 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.’
He said there was ‘no conversation’ and the complaint went to ‘this lunatic arbitration’ which he slammed.
‘If anyone ever suggests you go to arbitration: Don’t do it. Never do it,’ Murray concluded.
It comes as the actor faced backlash over kissing Naomi Watts during a joint appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
The pair recently starred in The Friend together, and were on the Bravo show last week to promote its release.
However, things quickly took a turn during a Q&A segment with the audience, when the 56-year-old actor was questioned over the best kiss of her career.
Before she could answer, the camera panned from host Andy Cohen to his guests, showing Murray tipping his castmate’s head back and kissing her on the mouth.
Viewers took to social media to slam the Groundhog Day actor, branding the moment ‘shocking’, ‘gross’, and ‘disrespectful.’
Metro has contacted representatives for Bill Murray and Naomi Watts for comment
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