Eddie Murphy left the 2007 Academy Awards after losing his first-ever Oscar nomination. The truth? According to the comedy legend himself, it wasn’t anger that made him leave it was the overwhelming wave of sympathy.
Murphy recently set the record straight in an interview with Entertainment Weekly while promoting his Netflix documentary Being Eddie. In 2007, he was riding high on critical acclaim for his dramatic role as James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls. For his performance, he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination alongside heavy hitters Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond), and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed).
When Arkin was announced as the winner, Murphy graciously applauded, but shortly after, he quietly exited the ceremony. At the time, headlines painted Murphy as a diva for his exit. Now, Murphy is finally clarifying what actually occurred.
“What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder,” Murphy explains. “Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, oh, no, no, I’m not gonna be this guy all night. Let’s just leave. I didn’t storm out. I was like, I’m not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.”
Murphy also missed Jennifer Hudson’s defining Best Supporting Actress win and the iconic Dreamgirls musical performances. While many assumed he avoided it out of bitterness, Murphy, 64, says he simply chose to protect his spirit and bow out gracefully.
1988 Oscar Comments
In Being Eddie, Murphy also discussed his belief of being blackballed by the Academy for his 1988 comments on the Academy’s lack of recognition of Black actors and actresses.
Murphy remembers telling the audience: “My first reaction was to say, ‘No, I ain’t going,’ … ‘I’m not going because they haven’t recognized Black people in the motion pictures.’”
Murphy recalls “no coverage,” and “no pictures” of him at the ceremony the following day.
“I haven’t gotten an Oscar, and I’ve done everything. I’ve played everything and done everything. And I haven’t gotten an Oscar,” he says. “But I don’t think it’s because of that,” he adds with a laugh.