Eddie Murphy Recalls A Joke At His Expense From ‘SNL’ And Calls It “Racist”

Bruce Haring
·2-min read

Eddie Murphy has forgiven a cheap shot from his old home at Saturday Night Live. But he hasn’t forgotten it.

In a New York Times interview, Murphy recalled a 1995 incident by David Spade during the “Weekend Update” segment of the show. As a photo of Murphy was shown, Spade said, “Look children, it’s a falling star. Make a wish.”

More from Deadline

Murphy was coming off the dismal Vampire in Brooklyn box office flop at the time.

“Most people that get off that show, they don’t go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal,” Murphy said.

“It was like, ‘Yo, how could you do that?’ My career? Really? A joke about my career? So I thought that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought — I felt it was racist.”

Murphy was a regular cast member on SNL from 1980 to 1984 and was appalled that a slap against one of their own was allowed by producers.

“The show would have been off the air if I didn’t go back on the show, and now you got somebody from the cast making a crack about my career? And I know that he can’t just say that,” he added.

“A joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was OK to say that. And all the people that have been on that show, you’ve never heard nobody make no joke about anybody’s career.”

Spade and Murphy had a phone call after the joke aired. Spade said he felt terrible and admitted in his book that he “took [his] beating.”

Murphy returned in 2019 to host SNL.

“In the long run, it’s all good,” Murphy said. “Worked out great. I’m cool with David Spade. Cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to ‘SNL.’ I’m cool with everybody. It’s all love.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories