Eddie Murphy on Warnings Before Him, David Spade SNL Joke

Eddie Murphy at the 2023 Golden Globes.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Eddie Murphy gets candid about how the great celebrities who came before him and died young served as guides for his life.

The iconic comedian-actor sat down with The New York Times for an episode of his podcast The interviewwhere he talked about everything from his refusal to take drugs to his feud with David Spade, which is now behind them.

During the conversation, host David Marchese pointed out that there was a time when Murphy was on the same level of fame as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Prince, but they all died quite young and because of drug use in one form or another. When asked if he understood the pitfalls of this level of fame, the The Beverly Hills Police Officer: Axel F star and producer, shared what he did.

“These guys are all cautionary tales for me,” he said. “I dont drink. I first smoked a joint when I was 30 – the drug used was weed. I remember when I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar. It was me, (John) Belushi and Robin Williams. They started doing coke and I was like, “No, I’m fine.” » I was not taking any moral position. I just didn’t care. Not having the desire or the curiosity, I would say that is providence. God was looking at me at that moment.

He explained that becoming famous at a young age, especially as a black artist, can be like living in a minefield because at any moment something can happen and undo everything.

“Now, at this age, I can look back and say, ‘Wow, I walked through a minefield for 35 years. » How can you cross a minefield for 35 or 40 years? Something has to look out for you,” he continued, adding: “This job is not made for a black artist. It was new: I’m doing things that no one has ever done, and it’s in a profession that’s not made for me. It’s made for a white guy. So you don’t have people protecting you, and you don’t have support groups. »

Elsewhere in the episode, Murphy opened up about the “low blows” he’s received from certain people throughout his career, including the time Spade made a joke about him on Saturday Night Live as part of his “Hollywood Minute” segment. The replacements The actor made fun of two of Murphy’s recent films that didn’t do well at the box office, and Sugar Cane Alley The star criticized him for that.

During the segment, Spade showed a photo of Murphy and said, “Everyone, catch a shooting star.” » Murphy shared with the Times that it “hurt me” and remembers thinking at the time, “Yo, it’s internal!” I’m family and you fuck me like that?

“It was like, ‘Wait, wait. It is Saturday Night Live. I’m the most important thing that’s come out of that show. The show would have been canceled if I hadn’t come back on the show, and now you have someone from the cast making a joke about my career? Coming to America said the star. “And I know he can’t just say that. A joke has to go through those channels. So the producers thought it was okay to say that.

He continued: “And all the people who have been on that show, you’ve never heard anyone make a joke about anyone’s career. Most people who come out of this show don’t go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal. It was like, ‘Yo, how could you do that?’ My career ? Really ? A joke about my career? So I thought it was a low blow. And it was sort of, I thought – I felt like it was racist. »

After the segment aired, he stayed away from the show for 30 years, refusing to return for his previous birthdays, until his 40th. Looking back now, The Hazel Professor star noted that they were all fine and that he no longer had any problems with Lorne Michaels, Spade or SNL.

Murphy also spoke about feeling like he paved the way for comedians like Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker, explaining that he felt like that wasn’t entirely true because they were following their own paths that were different from his.

“The comic was the sidekick, the comic was the opening act, and I changed it so the comic could be the main attraction,” he said. “They were thinking about comics in a certain way, and it was like, no, a comic book could sell out the whole arena, and a comic book could be in hundred million dollar movies. All that has changed. And with the black actors, it was like the black guy. could be the star of the film, and it doesn’t have to be a black exploitation film. It could be a film accessible to everyone, everywhere in the world.