Comedian Eddie Murphy proved he is still one of the best at cutting through political correctness and bringing the house down with on-point cultural observations.
Murphy was being honored at the Golden Globe ceremonies with the Cecil B. DeMille award when he made the hilarious reference to the infamous Will Smith slap from last year’s award ceremonies.
“I’ve been in show business for 46 years, and I’ve been in the movie business for 41 years, so this has been a long time in the making and greatly appreciated,” Murphy said in reference to his professional journey that began at the then-funny SNL and later successful movie career He went on to thank his girlfriend Paige Butcher and his 10 “amazing” children.
He added, “I’ve been doing this for a long time so I could literally stand up here and keep saying names until they play the piano, but I’m gonna wrap it up and just say something to all the new up-and-coming dreamers and artists that are in the room tonight. I wanna let you know that there is a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity and peace of mind.”
These are all of the boilerplate acknowledgments we’ve come to expect from awards shows. It was his next comment that hit gold.
Murphy offered the blueprint he says he has followed his “whole career,” saying: “It’s very simple, just do these three things: Pay your taxes, mind your business — and keep Will Smith‘s wife’s name out your f—ing mouth!”
Hilarious. For those that do not remember, Smith made headlines at last year’s Academy Awards show after host Chris Rock made a passing reference to his alopecia-afflicted wife, saying: “Jada, I love you…G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”
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Y'all was just saying no Oscar moment gon top that La La Land mess up and Will Smith said watch this.
pic.twitter.com/0DB4XNxe9b— tabby haworthe truther ♤ (@dansensolsens) March 28, 2022
Following that punchline, Smith shouted from the front rows to have Rock his his wife’s “f***ing name” out of his mouth before running on stage and slapping Rock across the face.
Somehow, Smith remained in the audience and later went on to receive his own award.
After being the recipient of much-deserved backlash, Smith reappeared this past summer and released a video suggesting Rock now owned whatever happened next. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out,” Smith said. “So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith then played the victim card, saying he was “trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” before adding, “I’m human. I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s—.”
Of the award, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association shared in a press release that it was “honored” to present the award to Murphy. “We’re honored to present this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award to the iconic and highly esteemed Mr. Eddie Murphy. We’re thrilled to be celebrating the lasting impact on film and television that his career — in front of and behind the camera — has had through the decades.”
According to Wikipedia, the Cecil B Demille Award “is an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”.