Eddie Murphy Calls Out David Spade, 'SNL' For 'Racist' Joke About His Career Failing: 'That Was A Cheap Shot'
Eddie Murphy has revisited the hurtful joke made by David Spade on "Saturday Night Live" that kept him away from the show for decades, describing the quip as "racist."
In a new interview with The New York Times, Murphy recalled the "cheap shot" Spade made about his career in a "Weekend Update" segment.
In the December 1995 episode, Spade joked that Murphy was a "falling star" after the latter's film "Vampire in Brooklyn" flopped at the box office.
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(Photo : Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)
Murphy -- who appeared on "SNL" from 1980 to 1984 -- told the Times he felt that he was singled out and that the joke was "personal" because the show does not typically make its former stars' careers the butt of its jokes.
"Most people that get off that show, they don't go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal," the 63-year-old actor said. "It was like, 'Yo, how could you do that?' My career? Really? A joke about my career?"
Murphy admitted, "So I thought that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought -- I felt it was racist."
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The "Shrek" star explained that he was shocked to hear the joke because he was "the biggest thing that ever came off that show."
He also claimed that "SNL" was failing before he returned to the show.
(Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Murphy went on to call out "SNL's" producers at the time, noting that the joke would have had to go through them before making it on air.
"So the producers thought it was OK to say that," the actor told the publication. "And all the people that have been on that show, you've never heard nobody make no joke about anybody's career."
According to Murphy, the joke was part of the reason he didn't go back to "SNL" until 2015 -- more than 30 years after he quit as a cast member in 1984.
Murphy said he has since reconciled with Spade and "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels, and "it's all good" between them after they worked things out.
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"I'm cool with David Spade. Cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to 'S.N.L.' I'm cool with everybody. It's all love," he told the Times.
Murphy made a brief appearance in "SNL's" 40th anniversary special at the time and later hosted the show for the first time in 35 years in December 2019.
During the 2019 episode, Murphy reprised some of his iconic "SNL" characters, including Buckwheat, Mister Robinson and pimp Velvet Jones.
