3 Stars, 3 Accusations Against Bill Murray

Seth Green says actor held him over trash can, plus Geena Davis, Solange Knowles allegations
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 18, 2022 7:31 AM CDT
Seth Green Describes Upsetting Bill Murray Encounter
Actor Seth Green, left, appears on MTV's "Total Request Live" with host Damian Fahey, Monday, June 11, 2007 at MTV's Times Square studios in New York.   (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Bill Murray's October started out uncomfortably, amid what Deadline calls an "avalanche of new accusations." Three of them involve fellow celebrities, while one centers on a crew member working on his latest film:

  • Geena Davis: The Academy Award-winning actress has a new memoir out called Dying of Politeness, and in it she recalls distressing experiences with Murray on the set of the 1990 film Quick Change. She notes how, during her audition and intro to her co-star, he whipped out a massage device he called "Thumper," which he insisted on using on her back, despite her protests. "The other men in the room did nothing to make it stop," she writes, noting she was too intimidated to walk away, per People. "I should have walked out of that or profoundly defended myself, in which case I wouldn't have got the part," she writes, per the London Times. She also claims that Murray once screamed at her on set, in front of hundreds of people, when she was late due to a wardrobe issue.
  • Davis also writes of an uncomfortable joint appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show to promote the movie (a clip has surfaced and is going viral), and that she hasn't seen or spoken with Murray since working on that film. "I figure it's sort of rather universally known that he could be difficult to work with," she writes. "And so I don't feel like I'm busting him in a way that will necessarily shock him. I think he knows very well the way he can behave."

  • Seth Green: The Austin Powers actor recently appeared on the Good Mythical Morning comedy series on YouTube, where he revealed an incident with Murray he says took place on the set of Saturday Night Live when he was 9. Green says he was in the green room sitting on a couch arm, which perturbed Murray. "He picked me up by my ankles ... held me upside down ... dangled me over a trash can and he was like, 'The trash goes in the trash can.'" Green, who says he was screaming and flailing as this transpired, says Murray then dropped him in: "I was horrified. I ran away, hid under the table in my dressing room, and just cried."
  • Solange Knowles: BuzzFeed reports on yet another allegation, this time involving Beyonce's sister. Over the weekend, TV writer and producer Judnick Mayard recalls being on the set of SNL in 2016 and witnessing Murray yank Knowles' hair. "Your yearly reminder that i saw Bill Murray put both his hands into Solange's scalp after asking her three times if her hair was a wig or not," Mayard wrote. Knowles had just finished performing her song "Don't Touch My Hair" on the show. Among those who "liked" Mayard's tweets: Solange Knowles, who has never shared that story herself.
  • Staffer allegation: Puck also revealed last week a "secret Bill Murray settlement" of $100,000 resulting from an incident involving a "much younger" female crew member on the set of Aziz Ansari's new film, Being Mortal. Murray is accused of kissing and straddling the woman on set, leading the woman to file a complaint against him. Deadline reports that in April, Murray spoke about the incident with CNBC, noting, "I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way. 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 added at the time that he and his accuser were "talking and we're trying to make peace with each other."
The New York Post has other allegations against Murray from those who've worked with him. So far, Murray hasn't commented on the recent claims. (More Bill Murray stories.)

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