Eddie Murphy brings The Slap to Golden Globes with Will Smith wisecrack
Eddie Murphy made sure during Tuesday’s Golden Globe Awards that the most infamous moment in recent entertainment awards history — Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at last year’s Oscars ceremony — was not forgotten.
Accepting the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award, the popular comedian and actor thanked several producers, executives and publicists he had worked with through the years before wrapping up with a tip for up-and-coming “dreamers and artists.”
“There’s a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity and peace of mind,” said Murphy, adding that he had followed it his whole career.
Tyler Perry, Tiffany Haddish and others spoke to The Times about Black creatives’ evolving attitudes toward Smith and Chris Rock since the Oscars slap.
“Pay your taxes, mind your business,” he said before adding with a dramatic pause, “and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your f— mouth!”
The quip, which was bleeped during the live NBC broadcast, was a reference to Smith slapping Rock onstage after he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith yelled at Rock from his seat after the attack to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
When he appeared backstage a few moments later, Murphy said he had not spoke to Rock or Smith since the incident, “but I love both of them.”
Times staff writer Michael Ordoña contributed to this report.
Smith spent his remarkable 30-year career building toward Sunday’s Oscars triumph. With a single, impulsive act, he turned it into a moment of shame.
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