Eddie Murphy on the cautionary tales that came before him, David Spade SNL Joke

Eddie Murphy gets candid about how the great celebrities who came before him and died young served as guides for his life.

The iconic comedian spoke with The New York Times for an episode of his podcast The interviewwhere he talked about everything from not wanting to do drugs to his feud with David Spade, which is now behind them.

During the conversation, host David Marchese pointed out that there was a time when Murphy was on the same level of fame as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Prince, but they all died relatively young and from drug use in one form or another. When asked if he understood the pitfalls of that level of fame, the The Beverly Hills Police Officer: Axel F star and producer, shared what he had done.

“These guys are all cautionary tales for me,” he said. ” I dont drink. I smoked a joint for the first time when I was 30 – drugs are weed. I remember when I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar. It was me, [John] Belushi and Robin Williams. They started doing coke and I was like, “No, I’m fine.” » I was not taking any moral position. I just didn't care. Not having the desire or the curiosity, I would say that is providence. God was looking at me at that moment.

He explained that becoming famous at a young age, especially as a black artist, can be like living in a minefield because at any moment something can happen that undoes everything.

“Now, at this age, I can look back and say, 'Wow, I walked through a minefield for 35 years.' How do you successfully navigate a minefield for 35, 40 years? Something must be watching you,” he continued, adding, “This business is not designed for a black artist. It was new: I do. which no one has ever done, and it's in a job that's not made for me. It's prepared for a white guy. So you don't have anyone to protect you and you don't have. support groups.

Elsewhere in the episode, Murphy talked about the “cheap shots” he's received from people throughout his career, specifically addressing when Spade made a joke about him on Saturday Night Live as part of his “Hollywood Minute” segment. The replacements The actor made fun of two of Murphy's recent films that didn't do well at the box office, and Sugar cane alley The star criticized him for that.

During the segment, Spade showed a photo of Murphy and said, “Everyone, catch a shooting star.” » Murphy shared with the Times that it “hurt me” and remembers thinking at the time, “Yo, it’s internal!” I'm family and you fuck me like that?

“It was like, ‘Wait, wait. It is Saturday Night Live. I'm the most important thing that's ever come out of that show. The show would have been canceled if I hadn't come back, and now you have someone from the cast talking about my career?' Coming to America said the star. “And I know he can’t just say that.” A joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was okay to say that.

He continued: “And all the people who have been on this show, you've never heard anyone not joke about anyone's career. Most people who leave this show don't go on to these amazing careers. C It was personal. It was like, “Yo, how could you do that? “My career? Really? A joke about my career? So I thought it was a low blow. And it was sort of, I thought – I thought it was racist.

After the segment aired, he stayed away from the show for 30 years, refusing to return for his previous birthdays, until his 40th. Looking back now, The Hazel Professor The star noted that they are all doing well and that he no longer has any issues with Lorne Michaels, Spade or SNL.

Murphy also spoke about feeling like he paved the way for comedians like Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker, explaining that he felt like that wasn't entirely true because they took their own paths that were different from his.

“Before, the comedian was the sidekick, the comedian was the opening act, and I changed that to the comedian being the main attraction,” he said. “They thought of comedians in a certain way, and it was like, no, a comedian could fill the arena, and a comedian could be in hundred-million-dollar movies. All that changed. And with black actors, it was like, the black guy could “The film has to be the star, and it doesn’t have to be a black exploitation film. It can be a film accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world. »