The Awful Reason Eddie Murphy Didn’t Return to ‘SNL’ for 3 Decades
What To Know
- Eddie Murphy stopped appearing on Saturday Night Live for three decades after being deeply hurt by a 1995 joke from David Spade.
- Murphy felt betrayed by SNL, believing the show that launched his career had publicly ridiculed him during a vulnerable period.
- After years of personal and professional growth, Murphy chose to reconcile with SNL.
In 1980, Saturday Night Live helped launch a 19-year-old Eddie Murphy into superstardom by giving him a platform to showcase his talent. Through unforgettable characters like Buckwheat, Gumby, and Mr. Robinson, Murphy quickly became a breakout sensation, paving the way for leading roles in hit comedies such as 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop.
But it took just one joke for him to turn his back on the very establishment that made him. In the Netflix special Being Eddie, the comedian tells the story that led to his falling out with the late-night show, and what led him to return to it three decades later.
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Shortly after Murphy’s less-than-stellar Vampire in Brooklyn came out with Angela Bassett, David Spade hosted a segment on SNL titled “Spade in America” on December 19, 1995, a bit that skewered Hollywood with his trademark snarkiness.
In the sketch, Spade shows a picture of Murphy from his early SNL years while remarking, “Look, children, it’s a falling star. Make a wish.”
Murphy did not appreciate being kicked while he was down. Not one bit.
“David Spade did a sketch on Saturday Night Live on the news desk. I had just had Vampire in Brooklyn come out,” recalled Murphy. “The audience there said ‘Boo’ and hissed him for saying it, right? So I was hurt. My feelings were hurt. I was like, yo! It’s like your alma mater taking a shot at you. At my career! Not at how funny I am. Called me a falling star.”
“If there was a joke like that right now and it was about some other SNL cast member and it was about how f**ked up their career was, it would get shot down. The producers would look at it [and say], ‘You’re not saying that joke,'” said Murphy. “The joke had went through all of those channels a joke had to go through, and then he was on the air saying, ‘Catch a falling star.’ So I wasn’t like ‘F*** David Spade.’ I was like f*** SNL.”
“That’s what you think of me?,” said a hurt Murphy. “And that’s why I didn’t go back for years.”
And true to his word, he didn’t. Murphy got his revenge the best way one can in Hollywood: Through success. For a fair amount of years, Murphy had a streak of successes, including The Nutty Professor, Bowfinger, Shrek, and Norbit, but it was soon followed by a few missteps that caused Murphy to take a break from the industry. However, it was during his hiatus that he decided to return to SNL.
“I realized it was like, ‘Hey, people don’t realize that I’ve taken a break.’ So I was like, let me get off this couch to remind them that I’m funny and that I’ve not fallen off. I’m on the couch by choice,” said the comedian.
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“I was like, ‘Hey, you know what? F*** this. SNL is part of my history. I need to reconnect with that show ’cause that’s where I come from. That little friction that I had with SNL was years ago. I don’t have no smoke with no David Spade. I don’t have any heat or any of that with anybody. And it was like, ‘Hey, let me go to SNL and smooth that all out. And I did.”
The result was one of the show’s most triumphant comebacks, as Murphy stepped back onto the stage in 2019, returning to the show that made him famous on his own terms.
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