Eddie Murphy recently joined Entertainment Weekly to promote his Netflix documentary “Being Eddie” and reflected on his time winning Best Picture for Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor.” Murphy intentionally used his time at the Oscars podium to criticize the Academy’s years-long failure to recognize black actors. He thought the bit would make headlines in the Hollywood press, but was surprised to find there was little talk the next day, Murphy said in a written statement.
“I remember being with Robin Williams backstage,” Murphy recalled to EW about Oscar night. “I thought, ‘I’ll say this.’ And he went up to me and said, ‘But why go there?’ I thought, “Oh, you don’t think that’s funny?” Or rather, “Is it interesting?” or rather, “Controversial.” I tried to be funny and say a little something, but let’s be funny too. Please at least agree with what I said. ”
In his foreword announcing the Best Picture nominations, Murphy said that he had been invited by the Academy to attend the Oscars ceremony and was initially told by his manager that he wanted to decline.
“I’m not going because they don’t recognize black people in movies,” Murphy told the Oscar audience. “And I’m probably not going to win an Oscar for saying this. But, you know what? I have to say, actually, the way things are going, you get an Oscar every 20 years or so, so I might not have any problems. So I’m not going to win any awards until 2004 or so. So by then, it’s all going to be blown away.”
At the time, there were only three black acting winners in the 60-year history of the Oscars (Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Louis Gossett Jr.). Denzel Washington would join the group two years later after winning the Best Supporting Actor award for Glory.
“That’s why I’m here to give you this award. I said, ‘But I feel like we need to be recognized as a people. I just want you to know that I’m going to give you this award. Black people don’t sit in the caboose of society, and we’re not going to stand in the background anymore. And I want us to be recognized.'” Murphy’s speech concluded.
Murphy told EW that when he gave his speech, he “didn’t think about the impact” of criticizing the lack of diversity among Oscar winners, adding: “I was just trying to be funny in the moment and I wanted what I was saying to be meaningful.”
But the comedian was right about one thing. Although he was a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor for 2007’s Dreamgirls, he has yet to win an Oscar. After Murphy won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, Alan Arkin was the surprise winner for “Little Miss Sunshine.” Some have speculated that it might be Norbit, a comedy that received disastrous reviews and was released just a week after Murphy was nominated for an Oscar. Murphy has defended “Norbit” in various interviews over the years.
“I love ‘Norbit,'” Murphy said on Complex’s “360 With Speedy Morman” series earlier this year. “‘Norbit’ came out right after I got nominated for an Oscar. There were articles like, ‘How could he win an Oscar? Did he do this?’ Those are two different movies. I wrote ‘Norbit’ with my brother Charlie (Murphy), and we think ‘Norbit’ is funny. This is the story of “Norbit”. It was released and won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress, Worst Actor, and Worst Actor of the Decade. And I was like, ‘Okay, it’s not that bad.’ ”
“Being Eddie” will premiere on Netflix on November 12th.
