Bill Murray and Lucy Liu were rumored to have a massive fight during the making of Charlie's Angels, and here's what is known about the verbal confrontation. McG's Charlie's Angels from 2000 brought the once-popular TV series to the big screen in a brand new way. It starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as expert private investigators known as "Angels" who work for Townsend agency and report to Townsend's assistant Bosly (Bill Murray). Charlie's Angels' box office haul was big despite mixed reviews, far different from the box office bomb of 2019's Charlie's Angels, and it helped increase the star power of its three leading ladies.
Despite the great on-screen chemistry between Diaz, Barrymore, Liu, and Murray, there have long been rumors that the on-set experience was anything but friendly. The main issue during Charlie's Angels' production was believed to exist between Liu and Murray. Rumors circulated for years that Murray insulted Liu's acting ability, which reportedly led to Liu physically attacking the comedic legend. The legend of the Charlie's Angels fight persisted for decades after it was believed to have happened, and many presumed this is why Murray didn't return as Bosley for the sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
Even though this alleged incident happened several years ago, it is still something that is routinely brought up to both Murray and Liu, who repeatedly downplay what happened. However, it was production assistant Shaun O'Banion who eventually shed some light on the actual events of Charlie's Angels' fight. He confirmed that there was never any physical altercation between Murray and Liu during filming. O'Banion went on to back up the reports that Murray insulted Liu by calling her a TV actress, insinuating that she was not on the same level as himself, Diaz, or Barrymore. However, this account of what happened included new details about what led to the verbal sparring. Murray reportedly rewrote the script without anyone's permission, which angered a lot of people involved, and Liu was the one who stood up to him for doing this. As far as O'Banion is concerned, Murray is completely in the wrong and the true instigator of the fight.
The fallout of Murray and Liu's heated exchanged saw Liu rush off the set and be comforted by Diaz and Barrymore. It has still yet to be revealed exactly what Murray said to Liu, but she has said that he used some "inexcusable and unacceptable" language. For her part, Liu has no regrets about standing up to Murray and defending herself amid his attacks. She has gone on to say that she has nothing against Murray, while he has mentioned that him not returning for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle had nothing to do with the fight he had with Liu.
While there are still pieces of the story that remain a mystery, the rumors about Murray and Liu's Charlie's Angels fight were only partially true - unless everyone involved is lying about the physical nature of it. Instead of it being just about the dialogue, it appears the real root of the fight was Murray overstepping his duties as an actor and rewriting script pages without anyone knowing. If this version of the story is really what led to the Charlie's Angels fight and what happened during it, Lucy Liu comes out on top, while this becomes another story in Bill Murray's past that paints him as an actor who can be difficult to work with at times.