Eddie Murphy breaks his silence about a racist joke David Spade said about him.
During a recent interview, Murphy discussed his time as part of the “Saturday Night Live” cast from 1980-1985. He talked about the good times he had while on the show. “There isn’t a better place for me to have been than here,” he recalled.
However, after he left the show in 1985, Murphy found mainstream success and starred in countless movies including, “Beverly Hills Cops,” and “The Nutty Professor” franchises. It took the comedian nearly 20 years to return to the place where he got his start due to a racist joke made by David Spade.
David Spade became a cast member of “SNL” in 1990, but in 1995, the comedian made a joke as part of his “Hollywood Minute” segment. During the screen, Spade began laughing while next to a picture of Murphy and said, “Look children, it’s a falling star. Make a wish.”
This joke came after Murphy’s movie “Vampire in Brooklyn,” also starring Angela Bassett, didn’t do well in theaters. Murphy did not like the joke and said, “I’m one of the family, and you’re f*****g with me like that? It hurt my feelings like that.”
He continued, “I know that he can’t just say that. A joke has to go through channels, so the producers thought it was okay to say that. And all the people that have been on the show, you’ve never heard nobody make a joke about anybody’s career.”
Murphy also called the joke a “cheap shot”. According to reports, Spade said that Eddie Murphy called him about the and blasted him about it. Spade wrote that the “Boomerang” star hated him at the time. They both have since ended their beef. Eddie Murphy has been back to the show in 2015 for its 40 anniversary special, and in 2019 when he hosted.