Yahoo Lifestyle "I Thought That Was A Cheap Shot": Eddie Murphy Slammed David Spade For A "Racist" "SNL" Joke About His Career
Eddie Murphy is a star who needs no introduction. He's had an incredible career across multiple decades...
And his latest film, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F — the long-in-development fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise — is hitting Netflix this coming week (July 3, to be exact).
Like many stars, Eddie's had his share of relative failures alongside his successes. Even though 1995's Vampire in Brooklyn wasn't exactly a box office flop, it wasn't very well-received, and even Eddie himself doesn't consider it one of his better films.
"The only way I was able to do Nutty Professor and to get out of my Paramount deal, I had to do Vampire in Brooklyn," he told Rolling Stone in 2011. "But you know what ruined that movie? The wig. I walked out in that longhaired wig and people said, 'Oh, get the fuck out of here! What the hell is this?'"
Around the time of Vampire in Brooklyn's release, David Spade — then a cast member on Saturday Night Live — made a joke about Eddie's career that was kind of brutal. "Look, children, a falling star," he said as a picture of Eddie appeared onscreen. "Make a wish."
As it turns out, the jab stuck with Eddie. During an interview with the New York Times, Eddie had some harsh words for David's bit, and alleged that the joke itself was "racist."
“Most people that get off that show, they don’t go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal,” Eddie reflected. “It was like, ‘Yo, how could you do that?’"
In case you don't remember, Eddie was also a former SNL cast member — from 1980 to 1984, specifically.
"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.”
After pointing out that he was the “biggest thing that ever came off that show” (a fair assertion, TBH) Eddie made sure to point out that, even though David told the joke, SNL's producers were far from off the hook in his eyes.
“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 said.
It's somewhat of a long-held assertion that Eddie's fame in the early '80s helped SNL stay afloat amidst what was considered a rough patch for the show. He also went on to win his first Primetime Emmy for hosting SNL in 2020.
“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.”
It certainly seems possible that David will respond, and we'll let you know if he does. In the meantime, read the entire interview here.
