Hitting back at the 'Dolemite Is My Name' star for making a joke at the expense of the incarcerated actor, the spokesperson reminds Murphy that 'The Cosby Show' alum paved the way for younger black comedians like him.
- Dec 23, 2019
AceShowbiz - Bill Cosby's publicist has spoken in defense of the disgraced actor after Eddie Murphy threw shade at his senior on "Saturday Night Live". Following the airing of the episode, Cosby's publicist Andrew Wyatt released a statement via the actor's official Instagram page on Sunday to hit back at the "Norbit" star.
He began by reminding Murphy of Cosby's role in paving the way for younger comedians like him, Dave Chappell and Kevin Hart among others as writing, "Mr. Cosby became the first Black to win an Emmy for his role in 'I Spy' and 'Mr. Cosby' broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come."
Blasting the "Dolemite Is My Name" star for making "disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby," he added, "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 compared Murphy to Stepin Fetchit, the stage name of vaudevillian comedian Lincoln Perry, "Stepin Fetchit plus cooning equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood."
He added, "Remember, Mr. Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanize all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr. Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait. Hopefully, you will be amenable to having a meeting of the minds conversation, in order to discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together."
During his Saturday, December 21 return on the NBC sketch series, Murphy compared his current situation to Cosby's as he talked about how much he's changed since his last appearance on the show 35 years ago. "My kids are pretty much my whole life now," he said in his monologue, "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, even I would have taken that bet." He added while impersonating Cosby's "America's Dad" character Cliff Huxtable, "Who is America's Dad now?"
Previously calling Cosby his idol, Murphy has feuded with the 82-year-old actor since the mid-1980s. He reportedly refused to play "The Cosby Show" alum in the "SNL 40" special in 2015.
In 2018, Cosby was found guilty of aggravated indecent assault for 2004 incidents. He is currently serving a 3-to-10 year prison sentence in Pennsylvania.
