Over the past few years there’s been a ton of conversation about what’s appropriate at the work place, including film/tv sets. The #MeToo movement inspired countless people out there to share their stories, including celebrities. That includes actress Geena Davis, who shared some uncomfortable experiences she had with Ghostbuster’s Bill Murray while working on 1990’s Quick Change. And the League of Their Own icon recently shared more information about the “inappropriate” interaction with Murray at the time.
Geena Davis has been definitely using her platform lately, offering a peek behind the curtain thanks to her new memoir Dying of Politeness (opens in new tab). Back in October she shared some “awful” experiences, including when he insisted on using a personal massager on her in a hotel room. She recently recorded the podcast On with Kara Swisher (opens in new tab), where she shared a more detail account of that incident. In her own words Davis said:
I went to meet with Bill Murray and his co-director and a producer in a hotel suite. And I came in and went to sit down with everybody sitting there. But Bill Murray popped up and said, ‘Hey, have you ever tried the thumper?’ And I’m like, ‘What? No. What’s that?’ ‘Well come try it.’ ‘No, no, no.’ ’Lay down here. I wanna try it on you.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no thank you.’ And he keeps at it. And I keep saying ‘No’ to the point where I would’ve had to scream at him, ‘Stop fucking asking me! I am not doing it. Do you understand?’ Which I was far too timid to do. So I perched on the corner of the bed and let him do it, and he did it for like one second, and then didn’t ask how I liked it or anything. So I realized it was just to see if he could force me to do something inappropriate.
That certainly sounds like a harrowing experience for Geena Davis at the time. On top of Bill Murray reportedly being so forceful with the personal massager, the fact that the incident happened at a hotel suite is all the more alarming. A number of #MeToo stories have revolved around women being asked to go to a powerful figure’s suite for a “meeting”, including Harvey Weinstein. So while Davis is a celebrity, she’s seemingly got some similar experiences to those who are not public figures.
Geena Davis’ comments on this podcast is just the latest example of her really standing in her power and her lived experience. Her book is titled Dying of Politeness, and recounts plenty of times where she didn’t necessarily stand up for herself. That includes a number of different experienciences with Bill Murray filming and promoting Quick Change. After all, it was hard for women to stand their ground at the time.
Later in that same interview during On with Kara Swisher, Geena Davis shared another experience with Bill Murray on Quick Change. This time it wasn’t about him being physical with her, but intimidating her and humiliating her on the set. She offered new details about this story, saying:
We were shooting a huge scene out on an intersection in Manhattan with hundreds of extras and giant crew and all that stuff. And they said, ‘We’re ready for you to come to set.’ And I said, ‘Well, costumes asked me to wait here one second. Can I do that, or should I come with you?’ Seconds later, Bill Murray — in a full clown costume, by the way — slams into the trailer with rage coming out of his eyeballs and starts screaming at me and swearing at me, ‘Get the fuck out there! What the fuck are you doing? Move! Move!’ And he got behind me and screamed in my ear, ‘Move! Move faster! Move it!’ And we’re getting to this intersection where there’s hundreds of people watching this, and he keeps it up and keeps it up until he says, ‘Stand there,’ and points to a mark on the pavement and starts shooting. Talking about it actually, it’s still — it’s very emotional for me because I felt so ashamed, you know, for somebody who wants to do things right. You know?
Talk about a grueling day at work. Being screamed at is hard for most people, let alone when it’s being done by a powerful celebrity like Bill Murray. So it makes sense that this would be a story she never forgot, even after all these years. Especially since it was paired with that earlier personal massager moment.
For his part, Bill Murray hasn’t responded to Geena Davis’ allegations of abuse during and after Quick Change. Although other figures have made other allegations about his behavior on movie sets including Lucy Liu and Chevy Chase. He also recently paid a production assistant $100,000 after straddling her on the set of Aziz Ansari’s movie Being Mortal. The movie’s production was suspended in April of 2022, and hasn’t resumed.
Geena Davis’ book Dying of Politeness is available now, and is attached to three upcoming movie projects. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.