Bill Murray had some sharp words for journalist Bob Woodward during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, questioning the credibility of the famed reporter’s work after reading just a few pages of “Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi,” Woodward’s 1984 book about John Belushi.
Woodward wrote the book after Belushi’s tragic death from a drug overdose in 1982. According to the book’s description on Amazon, it was an extensive investigation into the dark side of Hollywood. Based on interviews with 217 people—including Belushi’s widow, his “Saturday Night Live” co-star Dan Aykroyd, and actors including Chevy Chase, Robin Williams, and Carrie Fisher—"Wired" was marketed as a deep dive into the comedian’s rise and fall. Woodward relied on diaries, phone bills, medical records, and firsthand witnesses to paint a portrait of Belushi’s life, career, and struggles with addiction.
But Murray wasn’t impressed.
“When I read ‘Wired’—the book written by, what’s his name, Woodward—about Belushi, I read like five pages, and I went, ‘Oh my God. They framed Nixon,’” Murray said. The comedian and actor, who was close friends with Belushi, was appalled by what he saw as inaccurate reporting. “If this is what he writes about my friend that I’ve known for half of my adult life—which is completely inaccurate—talking to the people of the outer circle getting the story, what the hell could they have done to Nixon?”
Murray admitted he didn’t read the whole book, but what little he did see was enough to enrage him. “I acknowledge I only read five pages, but the five pages I read made me want to set fire to the whole thing,” he said. “Those five pages, I went, ‘If he did this to Belushi, what he did to Nixon is probably soiled for me too.’”
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He took issue with Woodward’s sourcing, arguing that the journalist relied on people who weren’t close to Belushi. “The two sources that he had, if he had them for Wired, were so far outside the inner circle that it was criminal. Cruel.”
Murray also pointed out an interesting coincidence. “The most famous person ever to come from Wheaton, Illinois, is John Belushi. The second most famous person to come from Wheaton, Illinois, is Harold 'Red' Grange, the football player. And the third most famous person to come from Wheaton, Illinois, is Bob Woodward.”
For Murray, “Wired” wasn’t just a flawed book—it was a hit piece on a friend.
This is far from the first time Woodward’s reporting has been called into question. His Trump books, “Fear” (2018) and “War” (2024), have faced sharp criticism for dubious claims backed by unnamed sources. In “Fear,” he attributed damning quotes to officials such as John Kelly and James Mattis, both of whom flatly denied making them, casting doubt on his sourcing. In “War,” Woodward alleged Trump held multiple private calls with Putin post-presidency and sent him COVID-19 test machines, citing an unnamed aide. The Trump campaign dismissed the claims as “fabricated,” and no call logs were ever produced to back them up.