Bill Cosby’s spokesman has fired back at Eddie Murphy after the comedian made jokes at Cosby’s expense during his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live.
Eddie Murphy was back on the show this weekend for the first time in 35 years. He was onstage alongside his fellow comedians Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan. It marked the show’s biggest ratings in two and a half years.
Murphy compared his current situation to Cosby’s, who’s serving three to 10 years in prison after being found guilty in April 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2004. Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania appeals court upheld the conviction. Murphy said:
“But if you would have told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring, stay-at-home… house dad and Bill Cosby would be in jail,” Murphy said to laughter, even I would have took that bet.”
“Who is America’s Dad now?” Murphy added, impersonating Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable, the sitcom character who was once often referred to as America’s Dad.
Andrew Wyatt’s statement
In a statement released Sunday, Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt called Murphy a “Hollywood slave” who betrayed African-Americans, saying it was Cosby who “broke colour barriers in the Entertainment Industry” so that Murphy and other comedians like Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart could perform.
Murphy’s jokes were “disparaging,” the statement said, adding, “One would think that Mr Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave.”
Wyatt’s statement then appeared to accuse Murphy of perpetuating racial stereotypes by saying he was “cooning” and comparing him to Stepin Fetchit, the stage name of actor Lincoln Perry, who embodied racist cliches.
“Remember, Mr Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanise all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait,” Wyatt’s statement said.
It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby,” the statement reads in part. “One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave.”
He also noted that Cosby’s groundbreaking career – including his historical Emmy win for his role in I Spy – paved the way for Murphy and other African American actors and comedians, as Cosby was the first black entertainer to win in his category.
Murphy has yet to respond to Cosby’s rebuttal. Watch Murphy’s video HERE.
