Eddie Murphy Explains Why He Refused to Impersonate Bill Cosby During Saturday Night Live Anniversary

Comedian revealed during an interview with The Washington Post

By Lily Harrison Oct 13, 2015 8:57 PMTags
Eddie Murphy, Bill CosbyGetty Images

Eddie Murphy wants to explain exactly why he opted out of impersonating Bill Cosby during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary earlier this year.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Murphy shared that he felt there was "nothing funny" about making light of the once beloved comic legend.

"It's horrible. 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.'"

Shortly after the program aired, fellow SNL alum Norm McDonald revealed via Twitter that he wrote the sketch poking fun at Cosby, but ultimately Murphy grew uncomfortable with the material and opted out the sketch because he didn't want to "kick a man when he's down."

In his interview with the paper, Murphy added that he "totally understood" why the late-night show wanted to cover Cosby in a sketch.

"It was the biggest thing in the news at the time. I can see why they thought it would be funny, and the sketch that Norm wrote was hysterical."

After hearing word that Murphy had decided not to perform as Cosby during the anniversary special, the beleaguered comedian spoke out in a statement obtained by NBC.

"I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions," the 78-year-old said.

The latest news surrounding Cosby's ongoing legal battles came last week, when a judge dismissed his attempts to throw out a libel lawsuit brought by three women who say he sexually assaulted them.

The court proceedings will continue with depositions and written discovery beginning as early as within the next few weeks, meaning Cosby can and likely will be deposed.

(E! and NBC are both part of the same NBCUniversal family.)