Filming for Bill Murray 's latest movie Being Mortal was shut down earlier this year due to a complaint made against the actor for alleged "inappropriate behaviour", with details of the incident now emerging.
Being Mortal is Aziz Ansari’s directorial film debut and is based on Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.
As well as directing, Ansari also wrote the film and was set to star alongside Seth Rogan.
When filming was suspended, Murray said: "I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.
"As of now we’re talking and we’re trying to make peace with each other. We’re both professionals. We like each other’s work – we like each other, I think."
Multiple sources have now come forward and described Murray allegedly "straddling and kissing" a "much younger" female production staffer.
The staff member "interpreted his actions as sexual" and was "horrified", according to a new report from Puck writer Eriq Gardner.
The woman is not named, but the writer claims she is not actor Keke Palmer, as has previously been speculated.
"This much younger woman, Murray felt, had been flirting with him. So at one moment when the two were in close proximity near a bed that was part of the production, Murray started kissing her body and straddling her," Gardner claims.
He added: "It was perhaps an unclear bit of physical comedy, but one that was unannounced."
The woman is said to have alleged that she "couldn't move" because Murray outweighed her.
Gardner writes: "He kissed her on the mouth, although when he did so, both Murray and the woman were wearing masks, owing to Covid protocols. Murray later said that he was just being jestful."
The woman made a complaint, as did a second staffer who witnessed the alleged incident.
Murray and the woman then entered mediation, and eventually came to a settlement of just over $100,000 (£90,533), according to the report.
It states: "Murray felt miserable, a source close to the actor told me, not just at what he thought was a miscommunication, but also at how one moment had caused his co-workers to essentially lose their jobs."
The fate of the Searchlight Pictures film, which was about halfway through production, is in doubt. Gardner suggested it looks more likely to get cancelled than reshot.
The Mirror has reached out to Murray’s lawyer David Nochimson for comment.
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