Bill Murray and Lucy Liu had a fiery showdown while filming Charlie’s Angels (Picture: Darren Michaels/Columbia/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Lucy Liu has opened up on the infamous clash with Bill Murray on the set of Charlie’s Angels and why she snapped back at the Hollywood legend.
Liu, 56, starred alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz in the 2000 film which follows three women working for a private detective agency.
Despite becoming a box office hit, things weren’t all rosy behind the scenes as a famous feud was sparked on set.
While making the film, Liu and Ghostbusters star Murray, 74, were involved in a fiery confrontation that saw Murray hurl insults at the actor.
It was reported at the time that the altercation became physical after Murray claimed Liu could not act.
More than two decades later, Liu doesn’t regret sticking up for herself as she had to ‘protect herself.’
Liu appeared alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz in the hit 2000 thriller (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
Behind the scenes, Murray and Liu were at loggerheads (Picture: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Liu has explained why she clapped back at the Hollywood icon (Picture: Santiago Felipe/FilmMagic)
The Presence star said Murray used language that was ‘inexcusable and unacceptable’, and that she didn’t think twice about confronting him.
‘I really didn’t think about it. I would have done that in any situation,’ she told The Guardian.
‘I think when I sense something is not right, I am going to protect myself. It’s an innate thing to do if you feel there’s injustice, and I always feel that way.’
She went on to say she could not be the person who stays quiet in situations such as these.
‘If I was, it would have been a much easier road,’ she added.
Speaking on the Asian Enough podcast in 2021, Liu explained the events which led to the argument.
Liu shared that the catalyst for the argument came from a scene rewrite (Picture: Darren Michaels/Sony Pictures Releasing/THA/REX/Shutterstock)
‘We had taken the weekend to rework that particular scene, and Bill Murray was not able to come because he had to attend some family gathering,’ she said.
‘So it was everyone else, and we just made the scene more fluid.
‘I wish I had more to do with [the rewrite], but I didn’t. Because I was the last one cast, and I probably had the least amount of privilege in terms of creatively participating at that time.’
While Liu claims not to have been involved in the rewrite, her co-star began to ‘sort of hurl insults’ at her.
She said: ‘I was, like, “Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me.” I couldn’t believe that [his comments] could be towards me, because what do I have to do with anything majorly important at that time?
‘I say, “I’m so sorry. Are you talking to me?”—and clearly he was because then it started to become a one-on-one communication.’
The actor said that there is no bad blood between them (Picture: Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic)
The actor declared that she ‘doesn’t regret’ her defensive reaction 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.’
Liu added that there is no bad blood with Murray, though, and she ‘has nothing against him at all’.
In fact, they reunited once on SNL, at which point he approached her ‘and was perfectly nice’.
‘But I’m not going to sit there and be attacked.’
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