Lucy Liu Says She Confronted Bill Murray on ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Set Over ‘Unacceptable’ Insults Because ‘I’m Going to Protect Myself’ When ‘Something Isn’t Right’
Lucy Liu made headlines in 2021 when she appeared on an episode of the Los Angeles Times’ “Asian Enough” podcast and revealed that Bill Murray allegedly made “unacceptable” and “inexcusable” insults to her on the “Charlie’s Angels” set. Now four years later, the actor was asked by The Guardian why she decided to speak out about Murray’s conduct on set. The two filmed “Charlie’s Angels” alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in 1999. The movie opened in theaters the following year.
“I really didn’t think about it,” Liu said about speaking out. “I would’ve done that in any situation. 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.”
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Liu acknowledged that she is not someone who stays quiet and plays the typical Hollywood game, adding: “If I was, it would have been a much easier road. But because I’ve never been that person, we had to find a way. There has never been an easy road, for me and for [other Asian American actors] – I really think it’s a group effort. I would never take credit. My career has not been paved by myself.”
Not counting the alleged Murray incident, Liu said she was mostly able to avoid toxic situations as an actor rising through Hollywood in the 1990s because she was “aware that some situations were not safe” and chose “not to get involved in that. I think having that sense of self saved me from a lot of probably bad situations of either being taken advantage of, or what people would think is quid pro quo. … Everyone has an instinct, and I don’t know that everyone listens to it, but that’s one thing that I’ve always been able to channel and connect with.”
During her 2021 interview on the “Asian Enough” podcast, Liu said that Murray hurled insults at her on set one day.
“I won’t get into the specifics, but it kept going on and on,” Liu recalled. “I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me.’ I couldn’t believe that [the comments] could be towards me, because what do I have to do with anything majorly important at that time? I literally do the look around my shoulder thing, like, who is he talking to behind me? 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.”
“Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it,” she continued. “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.”
Shortly after the podcast interview went viral, Barrymore came forward on her daytime talk show to praise Liu for speaking out. She explained that “comedians can be a little dark sometimes” and Murray showed up on the “Charlie’ Angels” set “in a bad mood.”
“What you have to know is how much Lucy stood up for herself and that was the great thing that came out of an unfortunate circumstance,” Barrymore said. “She literally said, ‘I do not accept that kind of behavior from you.’ And we all supported her and backed her up and we moved forward.”
“In the workplace, it is so important that we respect each other, and if you don’t feel you’re being respected to speak up for yourself and to have people around you say, ‘I back this person,’” Barrymore continued. “I respected her then, I respect her now. I’m proud of us as a team and a company that we didn’t tiptoe on the eggshells. We dealt with it right then and there, we were strong, and we moved forward and we didn’t accept anything less moving forward.”
Liu’s 2021 comments originally resurfaced a year later when Searchlight Pictures suspended production on Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut in April 2022 over complaints about Murray’s inappropriate behavior on set. The film never went back into production. A few months later, Geena Davis revealed in her memoir, “Dying of Politeness,” that Murray allegedly harassed her during the making of their 1990 crime comedy “Quick Change.” Davis wrote that Murray tried to use a massage device on her in a hotel room and then berated her on set.
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