Bill Cosby’s spokesperson blasted Eddie Murphy as a ‘Hollywood slave’ who betrayed African-Americans and ‘sold himself’ after the Shrek funnyman mocked the now-disgraced and incarcerated comedian during his return to Saturday Night Live.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s publicist who was seen at the comedian’s side during his recent rape trial, released a statement on Instagram on Sunday accusing Murphy of betraying African Americans just to gain approval from a white audience.
Wyatt said Murphy and other black comics owe their careers to Cosby, who is currently serving a three-to-10-year prison sentence in a Pennsylvania facility after he was convicted last year of aggravated indecent assault.
‘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 Chappelle [sic], Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come,’ Wyatt said in a statement.
A spokesperson for disgraced actor-comedian Bill Cosby (left) lashed out at Eddie Murphy (right) after Murphy made a joke about the convicted sex offender during his Saturday Night Live monologue over the weekend
The statement which was posted to Cosby’s Instagram account was written by Andrew Wyatt, the fallen star’s publicist
Wyatt was frequently seen at Cosby’s side during the entertainer’s sexual assault trial in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, last year
‘It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby.
‘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.’
Cosby, who was once one of America’s most beloved entertainers, has seen his reputation destroyed after more than 60 women came forward and accused him of a number of sex crimes, including rape, assault, and battery.
He has proclaimed his innocence.
During his monologue on the NBC variety show on Saturday night, Murphy noted the irony of him being a doting father to 10 children while Cosby, who cultivated a decades-long image a devoted family man, was in prison.
‘I actually have 10 kids now,’ he said to applause during the NBC broadcast from the SNL studio in Rockefeller Center on Saturday night.
‘Eleven if you count Kevin Hart.’
Murphy continued: ‘I love Kevin Hart so much but my kids are my whole life now.
The 58-year-old legend opened Saturday night’s show by talking about his 10 kids, getting a joke off about Bill Cosby in the process
‘And 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 took that bet.’
Murphy then broke out his uncanny imitation of Cosby, exclaiming: ‘Who is America’s dad now?’
The joke drew roars of laughter from the studio audience.
It was an apparent dig at a bit from Murphy’s 1987 concert film ‘Eddie Murphy Raw’ where the comedian told of a time when Cosby called him and berated him about cussing in his act.
According to Murphy, Cosby blasted his parenting skills and called him out as being a bad role model to his kids.
Wyatt did not think Murphy’s SNL dig was funny.
He accused Murphy of selling out his race by attacking Cosby just to endear himself to white audiences.
‘Stepin Fetchit plus c*****g equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood,’ Wyatt wrote.
Stepin Fetchit is the stage name of Lincoln Perry, a 1930s-era vaudeville actor who became the first black film star in Hollywood.
Perry frequently portrayed characters who were dimwitted, lazy, bumbling, and inept. While he achieved commercial success, Perry’s work is blamed for perpetuating negative stereotypes about African Americans.
Cosby is currently serving a sentence of three to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of sexual assault last year. He is seen above being led to state prison after his conviction at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 2018
The term ‘c*****g,’ which is derived from a racial slur, is a pejorative word describing a self-hating African American who debased himself by seeking to entertain white people in order to attempt to win their acceptance.
Wyatt continued: ‘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.’
Cosby’s rep then suggested getting together with Murphy for a ‘meeting of the minds’ so that they could ‘discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together.’
Wyatt ended the statement with the hashtags #NotFunnySNL #SNL #FarFromFinished #FreeBillCosby #BillCosby.
Murphy’s first appearance as host of SNL since he left the show’s cast 35 years ago was a memorable one.
During his monologue, he was joined on stage by SNL alums Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock as well as Dave Chappelle and current cast member Kenan Thompson – all of whom offered their own two hilarious cents.
The Coming to America superstar was announcing his upcoming sequel and recent Netflix film ‘Dolemite is my Name’ when Morgan came out on stage.
The two joked about a supposed sketch Morgan sent Murphy for the show before the Brooklyn comedian praised the show host.
Murphy was soon joined by Tracy Morgan (far left); Dave Chappelle (second from left); and Chris Rock (far right)
‘Whatever you need, I got your back,’ Morgan told Murphy.
‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. Like, like literally. I was conceived on the “Delirious” tour bus.’
‘I don’t know if that math works out,’ Murphy retorted.
Rock came out next and bragged about how he was there because his kids ‘love Lizzo,’ who was performing later on in the evening.
He also joked with Murphy about giving the comedian a Law and Order: SVU UTI sketch’ for SNL.
‘Instead of Ice T, it’s cranberry juice,’ Rock offered.
Chappelle lit up a cigarette while on the stage, in an apparent jab to Simon Cowell
Kenan Thompson joined the iconic comedians on the stage to close out the monologue
But Murphy clearly wasn’t a fan and declared: ‘That sounds kind of nasty for a Christmas show.’
Chappelle was the last to come out of the legendary group, and he too joked about offering a sketch to Murphy.
He then told the host that he followed his ‘blueprint’ for his career.
‘I became the biggest star I could on television and then I quit,’ Chappelle said to laughter.
That joke was a reference to Chappelle’s critically acclaimed Comedy Central sketch show which catapulted him into stardom more than 15 years ago.
Chappelle’s Show ran on the cable channel for three seasons beginning in 2003, but it ended after Chappelle, who had signed a $50million deal to continue filming, mysteriously flew to a psychiatric facility in South Africa.
During the SNL monologue, one of the group asked when was the last time they all got together.
Someone offered that they were last together ‘last Thursday at Sinbad’s house.’
The group continued with their monologue and closed out the scene before Murphy appeared in a hilarious sketch about gentrification and playing off ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’
‘You’re looking at half of Netflix’s budget,’ Chappelle said to the group, to which Morgan quickly corrected the masses.
Murphy, Rock, and Chappelle all have deals with Netflix for stand-up and movie specials.
‘Not me, not me,’ Morgan said. ‘I made all my money on the road.’
Murphy said: ‘You mean from touring, right?’
Morgan quickly retorted: ‘No, I got hit by a truck.’
The group continued with their monologue and closed out the scene before Murphy appeared in a hilarious sketch about gentrification and playing off ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.’
The skit paid homage to one Murphy did while with the show as a cast member under the name ‘Mister Robinson’.
‘My neighborhood has gone through so much. It has gone through something called gentrification,’ Murphy said in the sketch before meeting two of his white neighbors
‘My neighborhood has gone through so much. It has gone through something called gentrification,’ Murphy said in the sketch.
He later added: ‘It’s like a magic trick. White people pay a lot of money and then poof! All the black people are gone. But where do they go, boys and girls? Back to where they come from, of course. Atlanta.’
Murphy as Mister Robinson talks about Squatter’s rights before calling his white neighbors ‘racist’ when they ask if he stole their TV.
The sketch closes out with Mister Robinson exiting the home when he gets a visit from his son, who used a DNA kit to find out more about his father’s identity.