Yes, it’s true. The comedian was recently honored at the Kennedy Center by getting the oh-so-prestigious Mark Twain Award. The extremely popular cast member was such an audience favorite that Murphy even was given the position as host for a show while he was still a member of the SNL cast. He also said that Eddie is his “comedic hero”.
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During the special ceremony in Washington, DC, on Sunday night, Murphy did a little stand-up, his first set in decades. He’s the reason I have a job.
“In an era when everyone is apologizing for everything, it is fun and liberating to go back and watch him express anything that he thinks is amusing without filters”, she says. Added Murphy: “He should do one show where he comes out and talks insane: “I would like to talk to a few of the people who feel that I should give back my [expletive] trophies!”
“Some people are just blessed with talent, and with Eddie, it was just luck”, Nealon ribbed.
Eddie Murphy is now part of an elite club. “I’m not a hat guy”, said Noah. “He showed me a benchmark to aim for”. “He made me who I am today”.
Cosby’s connection to the Mark Twain Prize helps make the joke timely, but is it as timely as during the heat of the Cosby media firestorm on one of the highest-rated live events of the year? He then impersonated Cosby refusing to return his award.
“When it’s a prize, there’s usually money involved”.
Why? Because, as Murphy explained to the Washington Post just last week: “If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you’re just hurting people”, Murphy said. A year later, more than 50 women have accused the embattled comedian of sexual assault.
Murphy, nominated for an Academy Award for his role of a drug-addled singer in the hit movie Dreamgirls, was honored with the 18th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a star-studded celebration.
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Well… Bill Cosby probably hasn’t been waiting for it. “It’s a time for giving”, Murphy said on “SNL” in 1984. And he reportedly worked hard on the material he debuted at the Kennedy Center, running through the jokes with Arsenio Hall and Chris Rock in a D.C. hotel room beforehand.
