Lucy Liu Says She 'Felt Sad' After Hearing of Other Actors' Negative Experiences with Bill Murray

"It doesn't make me feel validated to hear other people having bad experiences," she tells PEOPLE

Lucy lui and bill Murray
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Stefanie Rex/picture alliance via Getty

Lucy Liu says it doesn't comfort her to hear other actors say they had bad experiences working with Bill Murray.

Back in 2021, Liu said that Murray, now 72, clashed with her on the set of the 2000 film Charlie's Angels, hurling language that was "inexcusable and unacceptable."

"I was not going to just sit there and take it. So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don't regret it," she said at the time on the Los Angeles Times' Asian Enough podcast.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods actress, 54, reveals what it was like to see other actors share similar experiences with Murray, in the years since she told her story.

"I felt sad that it happened to other people. It doesn't make me feel validated to hear other people having bad experiences," she says.

"I don't think it's a great feeling to have to live with that and to feel that you're punishing yourself for something that you had no control over. I feel very grateful that people are able to speak their minds and release that because I don't think it's a positive energy to hold within yourself," adds Liu. "It's valuable to be able to connect to other people and feel like you're not the only one."

Reps for Murray did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

drew barrymore, Bill Murray, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz
Drew Barrymore, Bill Murray, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels (2000). Moviestore/Shutterstock

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The actress also dispelled past rumors that she didn't get along with Charlie's Angels costars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, telling PEOPLE, "What I love about that relationship is that so many people denied it and created these rumors that we were fighting and that we didn't get along. But ultimately what I think people miss is that women can get along."

"We don't have to continue the idea that women are cat-fighting," says Liu. "And now we see with the #MeToo movement all of these things happening, and it sort of breaks and shatters those old prejudices."

When Barrymore, 48, recalled the incident on her talk show in 2021, she claimed costar Murray appeared to be 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. 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."

Some stars to share negative stories about working Murray include Geena Davis, who said he verbally berated on set in front of about 300 crew members while making 1990's Quick Change, and Seth Green. Last April, Murray was accused of sexual misconduct on the set of Aziz Ansari's upcoming movie Being Mortal. At the time, he spoke to CNBC, saying he "had a difference of opinion" with a woman working on the production.

"I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way," Murray, who currently appears in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, said at the time.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in theaters March 17.

For more on Lucy Liu, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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