“I thought that was a cheap shot,” Murphy said of Spade’s sketch.
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Eddie Murphy has accused David Spade of making a “racist joke” at his expense during a Saturday Night Live epsiode that aired back in the mid-’90s.
During a recent interview with the New York Times, Murphy recalled an instance in which Spade poked fun at the underwhelming success of his 1995 film Vampire in Brooklyn. “Look children, it’s a falling star,” Spade said while standing alongside a photo of Murphy, deadpanning, “Make a wish.”
The joke, which was made during a segment of Spade’s “Hollywood Minute” sktech that aired that same year, insinuated that Murphy’s popularity had taken a hit as a result of the film, a move which Murphy believes was malicious on Spade’s part.
Eddie Murphy speaks onstage during the LA Tastemaker event for Comedians in Cars at The Paley Center for Media on July 17, 2019 in Beverly Hills City.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix
The New York native points to him being among the most accomplished alums to appear on the iconic sketch comedy show as making Spade’s jab sting even worse. “It was like: ‘Yo, it’s in-house! I’m one of the family, and you’re f**king with me like that?’ It hurt my feelings like that,” Murphy told the publication.
The Hollywood veteran would go on to deem Spade’s bit to be a “cheap shot” and being racially motivated, as Murphy believes that no other former SNL cast member had been ridiculed in that manner. “This is ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I’m the biggest thing that ever came off that show,” Murphy said.
“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. 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. Most people that get off that show, they don’t go on and have these amazing careers.”
David Spade performs onstage during the ‘Comedy in Your Car’s’ drive-In concert at Ventura County Fairgrounds and Event Center on August 28, 2020 in Ventura, California.
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The 63-year-old remained adamant that Spade’s actions were meant to inflict harm, adding that the slight was a “personal” one. “It was like, ‘Yo, how could you do that?’ 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.”
However, Murphy revealed that he and Spade have since moved beyond their differences and have grown to be cordial with one another. “In the long run, it’s all good,” he told the Times. “Worked out great. I’m cool with David Spade. Cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to ‘SNL.’ I’m cool with everybody. It’s all love.”
Spade has also addressed the Sketch targeting Murphy, recalling being confronted by the acting star about the joke, which Spade himself now describes as “stupid.”
Eddie Murphy attends the world premiere of Amazon Prime Video’s “Candy Cane Lane” at Regency Village Theatre on November 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
However, his recollection did not make mention of his intent, as he seemingly attributed Murphy’s angst with the amount of ridicule he’d received during that period.
“I’ve come to see Eddie’s point on this one,” Spade wrote in his 2015 memoir, Almost Intersting. “Everybody in showbiz wants people to like them. That’s how you get fans. But when you get reamed in a sketch or online or however, that shit staaaangs. And it can add up quickly.”
Read Eddie Murphy’s interview with the New York Times here.
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