Eddie Murphy vs. \u201cSNL.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comedian, 64, is looking back on his years-long beef with the NBC sketch comedy program in his new Netflix documentary, \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy, who shot to stardom as a cast member on \u201cSNL\u201d from 1980 to 1984, explained how he felt betrayed by the show for letting David Spade make a joke at his expense <\/a>30 years ago.<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy. Mark Seliger<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like your alma mater taking a shot at you,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cAt my career, not how funny I was. Called me a falling star.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1995, Spade, 61, did a sketch called\u00a0\u201cHollywood Minute\u201d<\/a>\u00a0where he showed a picture of Murphy, whose horror movie \u201cVampire in Brooklyn\u201d bombed at the box office, and said: \u201cLook, children, it\u2019s a falling star. Make a wish.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy in his Netflix documentary \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d Courtesy of Netflix \u00a92025<\/p>\n David Spade mocking Eddie Murphy on \u201cSNL\u201d in 1995. SNL<\/p>\n Spade\u2019s diss hurt Murphy\u2019s feelings, but Murphy put more of the blame on the show itself. <\/p>\n \u201cIf there was a joke now about a former\u00a0\u2018SNL\u2019\u00a0cast member, about how f\u2013ked up their career was, it would get shot down,\u201d Murphy recalled in the doc. \u201cIt went through all those channels that the joke has to go through and then it was on the air.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo I wasn\u2019t, like, f\u2013k David Spade, I was like, f\u2013k \u2018SNL,\u2019 the \u201cShrek\u201d star continued. \u201c\u2018That\u2019s what y\u2019all think of me? Oh, you dirty mother f\u2014ers.\u2019 And that\u2019s why I didn\u2019t go back for years.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy at the \u201cWeekend Update\u201d desk on April 11, 1981. NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy as Mr. Robinson on \u201cSNL\u201d in Feb. 1984. NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/p>\n But nearly 25 years later, Murphy gave up his grudge and hosted \u201cSNL\u201d in December 2019 \u2014 after his movie career took a bit of a dive. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize I\u2019ve taken a break. Let me get off this couch to remind them that I\u2019m funny and that I have not fallen off,\u201d he remembered thinking at the time. \u201cI\u2019m on the couch by choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy continued, \u201cAnd then I was like, \u2018You know what, f\u2013k this. \u2018SNL\u2019 is part of my history. I need to reconnect with that show cause that\u2019s where I come from.’\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy hosting \u201cSNL\u201d on December 21, 2019. NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy at the \u201cSNL\u201d 40th anniversary special in 2015. NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Oscar nominee<\/a> also confirmed he\u2019s made amends with \u201cSNL\u201d and Spade. He even appeared in the show\u2019s 50th anniversary special earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThat little friction I had with\u00a0\u2018SNL\u2019\u00a0was 35 years ago. I don\u2019t have no smoke with David Spade. I don\u2019t have heat with any of that or nobody,\u201d he said in the doc. \u201cI was like, \u2018Hey, let me go to \u2018SNL\u2019\u00a0and smooth it all out.\u2019 And I did.\u201d<\/p>\n The Post has reached to to Spade and \u201cSNL\u201d for comment.<\/p>\n Chris Rock, David Spade, Eddie Murphy at the \u201cDeath of a Funeral\u201d premiere in April 2010. Eric Charbonneau<\/p>\n Murphy spoke about the \u201cSNL\u201d drama in a New York Times interview<\/a> in June, admitting that he felt Spade\u2019s joke was\u00a0\u201cracist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe show would have been off the air if I didn\u2019t go back on the show, and now you got somebody from the cast making a crack about my career?\u201d the \u201cNorbit\u201d actor explained. \u201cAnd I know that he can\u2019t just say that. A joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was OK to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo during a \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d skit on November 19, 1983. NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy on \u201cSNL\u201d on December 12, 1981. NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like, \u2018Yo, how could you do that?\u2019 My career? Really? A joke about my career?\u2019 So I thought that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought \u2014 I felt it was racist,\u201d added Murphy. <\/p>\n But Murphy told the NYT that he\u2019s \u201ccool\u201d now with Spade and \u201cSNL\u201d creator Lorne Michaels. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m cool with everybody,\u201d he shared. \u201cIt\u2019s all love.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy in his new Netflix doc, \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d Courtesy of Netflix \u00a92025<\/p>\n Eddie Murphy in \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d @2025 Eddie Murphy\/Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n