Eddie Murphy is a funnyman with morals. As many remember, Murphy made a brief appearance during "Saturday Night Live's" 40th anniversary special in February, but his appearance sparked an outrage among the show's viewers and social media users because the former "SNL" member did not participate in any sketches - a decision he said has to do with fellow comedian Bill Cosby's legal issues.
Murphy explained in an interview with The Washington Post that he did not want to portray Cosby because there's "nothing funny about" the embattled comedian's sexual assault scandal.
"It's horrible," Murphy said. "There's nothing funny about it. If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you're just hurting people. You're hurting him. You're hurting his accusers. I was like, 'Hey, I'm coming back to SNL for the anniversary, I'm not turning my moment on the show into this other thing.'"
After the program aired, former "SNL" member Norm MacDonald revealed in several now-deleted tweets that a sketch poking fun at Cosby was written for Murphy. The actor would have played Cosby during a segment titled "Celebrity Jeopardy," but the "Coming to America" actor was uncomfortable with the written material and opted out the segment. "SNL" star Kenan Thompson played in the sketch instead.
"He knew the laughs would bring the house down. Eddie Murphy knows what will work on SNL better than anyone. Eddie decides the laughs are not worth it. He will not kick a man when he is down," Macdonald reportedly wrote, according to E! News.
While Murphy admitted that he found Macdonald's sketch "hysterical," he didn't think it was appropriate to mock Cosby following allegations that the legendary comedian sexually assaulted over two dozen women during his career.
Following Murphy's refusal to participate in the sketch, Cosby released a statement praising him for his decision. "I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions," Cosby said in a statement released by his spokesperson, NBC News reported.
However, Murphy said he "totally understood" why "SNL" wanted to poke fun at the Cosby situation, saying, "It was the biggest thing in the news at the time. I can see why they thought it would be funny."
