It appears Will Smith smacking Chris Rock in front of the world at the 2022 Academy Awards will forever live via memes, footage, and quips — and that factitude has been bolstered by the one and only Eddie Murphy. On Tuesday (Jan 10), Murphy was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (which acknowledges “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”) at the 2023 Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, California held at The Beverly Hilton. While accepting the award, the “Nutty Professor” actor thanked his colleagues and family, as well as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, while reflecting on his 45+ years in the entertainment business. Murphy poked fun at Will Smith‘s slap across the face of Chris Rock at the Oscars towards the end of his speech, while giving success tips to “new, up-and-coming dreamers and artists in the room.”
Eddie Murphy remarked, “I want to let you know that there is a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity and peace of mind. It’s a blueprint, and I’ve followed it my whole career. It’s very simple, just do these three things: pay your taxes, mind your business and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out your f*cking mouth!” Jada Pinkett Smith (the “victim” of Rock‘s “G.I. Jane” joke as a result of being diagnosed with alopecia), Will Smith, nor Chris Rock have responded to Murphy‘s comment. The “Coming To America” star later spoke about his jest that rattled the Golden Globes.
Eddie Murphy shares three pieces of advice for up-and-comers in the industry:
1) Pay your taxes.
2) Mind your business.
3) Keep Will Smith's wife's name out your f—ing mouth.https://t.co/YDe7QBg9R9 pic.twitter.com/1iH3iHGBiz— Variety (@Variety) January 11, 2023
Following the Golden Globes ceremony, Eddie Murphy spoke to an Extra reporter backstage and stated he has nothing but doting feelings for both Chris Rock and Will Smith. The “Dolemite Is My Name” actor said, “I love Will! I love Will and I love Chris.” Murphy added he doesn’t plan on hearing from the “Independence Day” star. When queried about the chances of host Jimmy Kimmel mentioning the ‘Will Smith/Chris Rock slap’ during the 2023 Academy Awards, he responded: “If I was hosting the Oscars, I would have worked that joke that I did in there some kind of way. I think you have to say something but, you know, then you move on.”
Since the pubic assault, Smith has extended numerous apologies to Rock. “There’s many nuances and complexities to it, but at the end of the day, I just — I lost it, you know? I guess what I would say, you just never know what somebody’s going through,” Smith tearfully spoke in November 2022 on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. “I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behavior at all. I would just say, you’re asking what did I learn – it’s that we just gotta be nice to each other, man. It’s hard. And I guess the thing that was most painful for me is, I took my heart and I made it hard for other people. It’s like, I understood the idea that hurt people hurt people.”
Check out Eddie Murphy at the Golden Globes speaking on Will Smith and his slapping endeavors above.
Photo Credit: Michael Kovac / Contributor | Getty Images
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