*Eddie Murphy, 58, admits in a new interview with the New York Times that he cringes at some of the material from his 1987 stand-up special, “Raw.”
“I was a young guy processing a broken heart, you know, kind of an a–hole,” Murphy admitted of his controversial jokes.
He also addressed the backlash and public protests he faced for joking about AIDS and playing up homosexual stereotypes, which he now admits was “ignorant” on his part.
“I deeply regret any pain all this has caused,” Murphy said in a statement back in 1996 after being picketed (via Page Six). “Just like the rest of the world, I am more educated about AIDS in 1996 than I was in 1981. I think it is unfair to take the words of a misinformed 21-year-old and apply them to an informed 35-year-old man. I know how serious an issue AIDS is the world over. I know that AIDS isn’t funny. It’s 1996 and I’m a lot smarter about AIDS now.”
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I wish the people who reject Eddie Murphy’s apology or have an issue with his growth as a person would just be real: You just wish you could dehumanize and laugh at the LGBTQ community without retribution or criticism. If you’re still staying the same shit you did at 25, yikes. https://t.co/4h3Xm74CRS
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 28, 2019
Murphy chopped it up with New York Times in a profile promoting his upcoming Netflix film, “Dolemite is My Name,” which drops Oct. 4.
As we previously reported, Murphy is also set to go on a stand-up comedy tour next year and star in the anticipated sequel to “Coming to America.”
In a recent interview with PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, Murphy explained how playing Dolemite inspired his return to the comedy circuit. “I was on the couch for maybe five six years and now it’s time to get off the couch,” he said.
“I was on the couch because I was rested, I mean I was tired,” he continued. “I’d been making movies and doing this stuff for so long I just needed time to be on the couch. Now, I’m off and [Dolemite] kind of lit a spark because it turned out so well and it got the creative juices flowing.”
The funnyman is also set to host the December 21 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” and it will be his first time doing so in 35 years.
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