Eddie Murphy was all set to return to stand-up until the coronavirus pandemic hit — and says now hit’s “no times for joking.”
Speaking Saturday at the Creative Emmys’ virtual backstage following his win for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for his guest host appearance last December on “Saturday Night Live,” Murphy called 2020 “really serious times,” Deadline reported.
“We were planning before the pandemic hit, this year we’d be working on doing stand-up and getting stuff together, but all this happened,” he said from his home after winning Guest Actor Comedy Series award — his first Emmy.
“These are really serious times, no times for joking,” Murphy said in answer to a question about the importance of comedic commentary.
“I don’t know right now if there should be any comedic commentary. We’re still right in the middle of everything,” he said, without ticking off all that’s going on in the United States — the pandemic, election and Black Lives Matter movement.
“In a year or so, we’ll be need comedic commentary and some laughs, but now we’re right in this,” he said.
He noted even fellow comic Dave Chappell’s Emmy-winning “Sticks & Stones” was more serious than funny.
“There was very little joking. He was doing stand-up, but it was, like, serious.,” Murphy said.
But Murphy said he’ll back, Deadline reported.
“As soon as it’s clear to go back out there, that was the plan, that is the plan,” he said.
Murphy noted it had been “36 years to the day” since he was on SNL last year.
“It’s where I got my start, and to go back and have it turn out the way it turned out, and this (win) on top of it, this is just really special,” he said, Deadline reported.
Murphy took his guesting honors in a field that included the late Fred Willard in “Modern Family,” Dev Patel in Amazon’s “Modern Love” and Luke Kirby as Lenny Bruce on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
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