Geena Davis described a “horrendous” television interview with Bill Murray in which he tugged her dress strap down live on camera.
Davis discussed the incident with the British publication I and in her new memoir, “Dying of Politeness,” which debuted on October 11. Davis, 66, and Murray, 72, worked together on the 1990 crime comedy “Quick Change” In order to promote the film, the two appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show” that year, although Davis told the source that the interview made her feel uncomfortable.
“Oh you saw? Isn’t it stunning?” Davis told the outlet that the event was “horrible”
Murray stroked Davis’ arms and, at one point, pulled down her dress strap as she spoke to Hall about her audition process, as seen in a clip from the interview.
“Did he move you deeply during the audition?” During the conversation, Hall asked Davis about Murray.
“Yeah, I swear. The first thing he did was remove my shirt and begin to tickle my stomach “She reacted while the audience laughed, smiling.
The 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party is held in Beverly Hills, California.
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Davis told the publication that although she laughed off the incident at the time, it was “devastating” in the end.
“I had forgotten. When I told it that way, as a comical anecdote, I must have felt, “Well, it’s ultimately amusing or makes a wonderful story,” despite the fact that it was so tragic “Davis said.
Murray’s representatives did not react quickly to Insider’s request for comment.
Davis reportedly discussed the audition in her autobiography, adding that it took her “decades” to understand how Murray treated her at the time. Davis stated that when she went to Murray’s hotel suite to audition, despite her refusal, he used a massage apparatus he called “The Thumper” on her.
She writes, “I said no numerous times, but he persisted.” She writes, “I understood with tremendous anguish that I lacked the strength to withstand this assault – or to simply leave.”
Geena Davis in December 1990.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Getty Images
According to her account, Murray also behaved inappropriately with her on site. Murray wrote that Murray “entered the trailer in a rage, forcefully knocking on the door, and yelling at her”
During a guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live” earlier this month, actor Seth Green recalled a difficult incident with nine-year-old Murray. Green claimed Murray threw him into a garbage can because he refused to move off a couch, but he was afterwards consoled by “Saturday Night Live” actors Eddie Murphy and Tim Kazurinsky.
“They were like, ‘Hey, everybody knows Bill is a jerk,’” Greens claimed of Murphy and Kazurinsky. “He is the host of the show. He is likely really anxious about it. You be a pro. The play must continue.”