Lucy Liu has no regrets about standing up for herself against Bill Murray while filming the 2000 action movie Charlie’s Angels.
“I really didn’t think about it. I would have done that in any situation,” Liu, 56, shared in an interview with The Guardian published on Monday, January 13.
“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.”
In a July 2021 interview on “Asian Enough” podcast, Liu had accused Murray, 74, of using “inexcusable and unacceptable” language during their time on set.
“As we’re doing the scene, Bill starts to sort of hurl insults, and I won’t get into the specifics, but it kept going on and on. I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me,’” she recounted.
“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.”
Despite the conflict, Liu clarified she bore no ill will toward Murray and even had a pleasant interaction with him at a Saturday Night Live reunion.
“He came up to me and was perfectly nice,” she stated. “But I’m not going to sit there and be attacked.”
Liu’s remarks came long after rumors circulated about tensions between her and Murray on the Charlie’s Angels set.
In a 2009 interview with the Times of London, Murray addressed speculation about the feud, saying, “Look, I will dismiss you completely if you are unprofessional and working with me.”
Standing Her Ground in Hollywood
In her latest interview with The Guardian, Liu reflected on how speaking up for herself may have made her Hollywood journey more challenging.
“I would have walked a much easier road if I didn’t [speak up],” she explained. “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,” she added, referencing her fellow Asian American actors. “I would never take credit. My career has not been paved by myself.”
Liu reprised her role as Alex Munday in the 2003 sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Murray, however, did not return as John Bosley, the titular spies’ supervisor, and was replaced by Bernie Mac, who played Bosley’s adoptive brother, Jimmy Bosley.
Drew Barrymore’s Support
Costar Drew Barrymore publicly supported Liu following her 2021 revelations about Murray’s behavior.
“What really happened was Bill was just in a — you know, comedians can be a little dark sometimes — and he just came in in a bad mood, and 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, 49, said during an October 2021 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
“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.”
Barrymore went on to express her admiration for Liu, saying, “I respected [Lucy] then, I respect her now. We dealt with it right then and there, we were strong and we moved forward and we didn’t accept anything less moving forward.”