Lucy Liu explained why she chose to ‘protect herself’ against Bill Murray on the Charlie’s Angels set rather than turning the other cheek to his behaviour
Hollywood star Lucy Liu, 56, has spoken up about what drove her to speak up in her infamous fight with Bill Murray, 74.
Back in 2000, the actors worked together on the film Charlie’s Angels, alongside fellow stars Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore. However, Bill didn’t come back for the 2003 sequel, after getting into a fight with Lucy on set, during which he reportedly used incredibly aggressive language and seemed to target Lucy – the least famous actress in the cast – in particular.
Speaking to The Guardian, Lucy revealed why she chose to defend herself against the much older, more influential actor. “I really didn’t think about it. I would have 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,” she shared.
The publication asked whether Lucy had considered keeping quiet to keep the peace on set and for her career as a whole, but the Elementary star said she wasn’t that type of person. She shared: “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. I think there has never been an easy road, for me and for us – and I say ‘us,’ because I really think it’s a group effort.”
Back in July 2021, Lucy addressed the decades-old rumours about the fight and explained how it had come about. The actress told the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast how she and Bill were rehearsing a scene that needed to be reworked.
She said Bill had been away at a family gathering when the changes were made. “As we’re doing the scene, Bill starts to sort of hurl insults, and I won’t get into the specifics,” she alleged. “But it kept going on and on. I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me,’” she recalled. “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.”
Lucy added: “Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it.” The Ally McBeal actress reiterated her lack of regrets over the fallout, telling the podcast that nobody should “need to condescend or to put other people down.”
While Lucy has spoken up a few times about what went down in the making of Charlie’s Angels, her co-star Drew has also backed up her story. Around the same time as the podcast, Drew said on her show: “Lucy is out there right now talking about her instance with Bill Murray. Do you want to know what happened? Do you want me to spill the tea?”
She went on to explain how Bill came into filming in “a bad mood”, and continued: “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. She literally said, ‘I do not accept that kind of behaviour from you.’ And we all supported her and backed her up and we moved forward.”
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