Eddie Murphy explained in a recent interview that he turned down an opportunity to reprise his parody of Bill Cosby during the "SNL" 40th anniversary special earlier this year.
The comedian, 54,
told The Washington Post that fellow "SNL" alum Norm Macdonald had written a parody "Jeopardy!" sketch with Murphy playing Cosby, but, after refusing the role, it went to Kenan Thompson.
"I totally understood," said Murphy. "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."
Asked specifically why he declined the role, however, Murphy suggested the humor was not worth the strife.
"It’s horrible," he said of the Cosby rape allegations. "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.'"
The Huffington Post reported that, after the February special aired, Macdonald tweeted that Murphy declined to play Cosby because "he will not kick a man when he is down."
"I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions," a Cosby spokesperson said at the time.
Elsewhere in the interview, Murphy talked about why he hasn't told a joke in front of a live audience since 1987.
"Every now and then when I think about it, I think, 'What would I even talk about onstage?' It’s never been, 'I wonder if I’m funny. I wonder if I can come up with jokes.' It’s more, 'What would it be like without the leather suit and the anger?'"
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