David Spade is known for his quick-witted fire insults. There was a time when he insulted Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live, for which Murphy didn’t return to SNL since then.
We know that Eddie Murphy is a highly skilled comedian who experienced both successes and setbacks on his path to fame. Despite studios like Fox and Paramount offering upfront payments for films like Meet Dave and Imagine That, both were massive failures, leading to Murphy’s inclusion on Hollywood’s Most Overpaid list.
Besides these movies, Murphy’s list has two more flops: Harlem Nights and Vampire in Brooklyn. These two movies were the reason (indirectly) why he stayed away from SNL for decades.
The Origins of the David Spade and Eddie Murphy Feud on SNL
In the mid-1990s, during an episode of Saturday Night Live, cast member David Spade delivered a well-known line in his segment Hollywood Minute, known for poking fun at celebrities. Sitting next to a picture of SNL alum Eddie Murphy, Spade cracked:
“Look, children, it’s a falling star!”
That was a dig at the comedian’s career decline. Hurt by the insult, Murphy distanced himself from the show for three decades (almost 31 years). He then returned briefly in February for the SNL 40 special. Spade has now revealed the backstory of this memorable feud in his upcoming memoir, Almost Interesting, with an excerpt available on Salon.
He noted, at that time, he was elated to have a popular segment on the show that he didn’t realize whose feeling he was hurting. Spade further explained how he came up with the Murphy insult, relating it to the actor’s constant movie failures, Harlem Nights and Vampire in Brooklyn.
The comedian later said that some of the writers on the show dared him “to go after certain people.”So, maybe, Eddie Murphy looked like prime bait to Spade since he had a couple of flops in a row that time.
Eddie Murphy’s Extended SNL Absence is Linked to David Spade’s Career Jab
On the next Monday (after the jab), Spade got numerous angry calls from Murphy. Despite avoiding the situation, the actor eventually spoke with the comedian. According to Spade, Murphy fired off a barrage of dirty words at him. The Beverly Hills Cop actor started:
“David Spade, who the f*ck do you think you are?!! Honestly? Who. The. F*ck. Going after ME?? You dumb motherf*cker! I’m off-limits, don’t you know that? You wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for me. Talking shit about me?”
Spade said that the verbal attack deeply hurt him. The comedian shared:
“I just stared at Rock in disbelief. It was so much worse than I had imagined. I wanted to apologize, explain the joke, anything, but nothing came out. Here was one of my favorite comedians of all time ripping me a new asshole. I had worshipped this dude for years, knew every line of his stand-up. And now he hated me. Like, really really hated me.”
In 2011, Murphy told Rolling Stone that Spade’s joke was the reason why he never participated in any SNL. Murphy explained, “What really irritated me about it at the time was that it was a career shot.” Although eight years after his statement, the actor finally hosted SNL in December 2019.
Source: Ultimate Classic Rock
