Eddie Murphy took to the stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Oct. 18, to both accept the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and to give the crowd a taste of his first stand-up routine in 28 years.
In the midst of his seven-minute set, the Oscar nominee, 54, noted that disgraced comedian Bill Cosby had also won a Mark Twain Prize in 2009.
“Did y’all make Bill give his [trophy] back?” he asked. “You know you f—ked up when they want you to give your trophies back.”
He then went on impersonate Cosby, 78, joking that the sitcom star should do his own crazed form of stand-up, saying, “I would like to talk to some of the people who feel that I should give back my motherf—king trophies!” he said, as the Cosby Show actor.
Murphy has been out of the stand-up comedy scene since 1987. His decision to impersonate Cosby at the awards show was unexpected, especially considering that he refused to do so during February’s SNL 40 event.
In an interview with The Washington Post last week, the SNL alum said, “There’s nothing funny about it. 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.’”
