Eddie returned to Saturday Night Live for the first time in 35 years on Saturday, Dec. 21. But at least one comedian didn’t think he was funny.
Bill Cosby’s reps called Murphy a “Hollywood slave” after the comedian took a jab at his elderly colleague, who is currently behind bars.
Murphy, 2nd from left, is pictured with Cosby, 2nd from right, in a photo taken at a charity softball game in 1989. Also pictured are Redd Foxx, left, Sidney Poitier, center, and Richard Pryor.
Murphy, 58, dissed Cosby in his opening monologue when he mentioned the 82-year-old comedian’s conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
“My kids are actually pretty much my whole life now,” Murphy said. “And you know what – if you told me thirty years ago that I would be this boring stay-at-home, you know, house dad, and Bill Cosby would be in jail? Even I would have taken that bet. Who is America’s dad now?”
In response to Murphy’s apparent jab, Cosby’s publicist Andre Wyatt took to Instagram to demand respect:
“Mr. Cosby became the first Black to win an Emmy for his role in I Spy and Mr. Cosby broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come.”
He continued:
“It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby. One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave.”
Comparing Murphy to Stepin Fetchit, a Vaudeville comedian who was famous for his condescending Negro act, Wyatt wrote:
“Stepin Fetchit plus cooning equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood. Remember, Mr. Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanize all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr. Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait. Hopefully, you will be amenable to having a meeting of the minds conversation, in order to discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together.”
