Eddie Murphy recently called out comedian and actor David Spade for making alleged “racist” jokes on the hit show Saturday Night Live in the 1990s. Reportedly, the two famous actors had a falling out after Spade’s comments, which Murphy felt were racially targeted. The incident in question traces back to a 1995 skit of Spade’s titled “Hollywood Minute.”
During the SNL sketch, Spade displayed a picture of Murphy after his film “Vampire in Brooklyn” flopped at the box office. The actors said, “Look, children, it’s a falling star. Make a wish.” According to an interview he gave with the New York Times, Murphy claimed he was initially put off by Spade’s comment during the episode.
“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 said, addressing the remarks. He further maintained that he was a massive influence on SNL, maintaining that the late-night comedy show would have failed if it weren’t for his presence. Taking that into consideration, Murphy explained that he couldn’t believe Spade had the audacity to make the joke.
“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.”
Murphy continued, stating that he thought the joke was a “cheap shot” at his career that had racially charged undertones. “Most people that get off that show, they 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 that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought — I felt it was racist.”
Despite the joke that ruffled Murphy’s feathers, he noted that he and Spade are “cool” today. He added that he also mended relationships with the broader team on Saturday Night Live. “In the long run, it’s all good,” he told the NYT. “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 addressed the tension between him and Murphy in a 1997 interview with Entertainment Weekly in which he recalled discussing the incident with fellow comic Chris Rock. Per Spade, “Chris Rock told me, ‘Spade, Eddie’s got his biggest movie in 10 years, a beautiful wife, and he still can’t shake the fact that you took a swipe at him. ‘I said, ‘Tell him three words that’ll change his life: Let it go,’ ”
The actor revealed in a later memoir titled, “Almost Interesting,” that he eventually came to understand why Murphy got upset at the slight. “I try not to think of the casualties when I do rough jokes, but there are consequences sometimes,” Spade said in the book. “I know for a fact that I can’t take it when it comes my way. It’s horrible for all the same reasons. I’ve come to see Eddie’s point on this one,” he said.
Watch other footage of celebrities complaining about supposed racism in the entertainment industry below:
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