Bill Cosby’s publicist, Andrew Wyatt, has caught wind of the jabs Eddie Murphy made about Cosby during his Saturday Night Live episode over the weekend, and Wyatt has taken to Instagram to respond, throwing some insults Murphy’s way, too. During Murphy’s star-studded opening monologue, the comedian and actor briefly referenced Cosby when he told the audience, while referring to his children, “If you would’ve told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring, stay-at-home housedad and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I would’ve took that bet!†He added, while impersonating Cosby, “Who is America’s dad now?†Watch the monologue for yourself below — the Cosby reference begins at 1:30:
Wyatt responded to Murphy’s remarks in a lengthy Instagram post on Cosby’s account, calling Murphy a “Hollywood Slave†and arguing that Murphy’s career was only possible because of Cosby. Wyatt ended the statement using hashtags like #NotFunnySNL and #FreeBillCosby. Read the full statement below:
Mr. Cosby became the first Black to win an Emmy for his role in I Spy and Mr. Cosby broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell [sic], Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come. It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby. One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave. Stepin Fetchit plus cooning equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood. Remember, Mr. Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanize all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr. Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait. Hopefully, you will be amenable to having a meeting of the minds conversation, in order to discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together.â€Â #NotFunnySNL #SNL #FarFromFinished #FreeBillCosby #BillCosby
Murphy has been very vocal in his criticism of Cosby over the years, including earlier this year when he appeared on an episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. “He had a weird thing with me that he didn’t have with other comics,†Murphy told Seinfeld, referring to the “mean†way Cosby would lecture Murphy about his material. “He wasn’t nice. He wasn’t doing that with everybody — he did that with me specifically. He was shitty with me.†Murphy also turned down an opportunity to play Cosby during SNL’s 40th-anniversary special back in 2015, calling the idea of playing Cosby “horrible.†“There’s nothing funny about it,†he said at the time. “If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you’re just hurting people. You’re hurting him. You’re hurting his accusers. I was like, ‘Hey, I’m coming back to SNL for the anniversary. I’m not turning my moment on the show into this other thing.’â€
Cosby, meanwhile, is currently in jail serving a three- to ten-year sentence for sexual assault.