Eddie Murphy speaks out on his Golden Globes joke about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock: 'It's all love'
- Eddie Murphy won the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.
- In his acceptance speech, the actor joked about Will Smith and Chris Rock at last year's Oscars.
The 2023 Golden Globes were packed with some triumphant moments for a number of stars, like Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Angela Bassett, and Colin Farrell. But among the list of winners was iconic actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, who was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.
The win was not surprising given his hugely successful career, and he treated the audience to some insightful career advice before making a joke about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in March 2022.
The star said: "I want to let you know there's a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, and peace of mind. It's very simple. There's three things: pay your taxes, mind your business, and keep Will Smith's wife's name out your fucking mouth!"
Murphy spoke to Entertainment Tonight after the ceremony on Tuesday to discuss his award and briefly touched on the headline-grabbing joke.
He explained "That's the blueprint. Yeah, because in reality, I've worked with Jada. I love Will. I love Will, and I love Chris, and it's all love."
Murphy and Pinkett Smith previously worked on "The Nutty Professor" together back in 1996, so it seems that the joke came from a good place.
The "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Coming to America" star also said that he's incredibly grateful to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
He added: "It's a prestigious award. And like I said, when you receive stuff like this when you're older, you really appreciate it more. Now you do."
In November 2022, Smith explained the infamous slap on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah," saying: "That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time." He that he understood if people didn't want to watch his latest movie, "Emancipation," as a result of the controversy.