At least one person didn’t find Eddie Murphy’s triumphant return to Saturday Night Live funny.
Bill Cosby’s publicist Andrew Wyatt released a statement Sunday slamming Murphy’s monologue, in which the former SNL star cracked a joke about Cosby.
Murphy hosted SNL for the first time in 35 years. In his opening monologue, he talked about how he enjoys staying at home with his 10 children.
“My kids are actually pretty much my whole life now,” Murphy said. “But if you had told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring stay-at-home house-dad, and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I wouldn’t have taken that bet.”
Murphy followed up with “Who’s America’s dad now!” in a voice imitating the 82-year-old comedian, who is currently serving a three- to 10-year prison term after a jury convicted him last year of sexually assaulting a Temple University employee in 2004.
In a statement posted to Facebook and Twitter, Wyatt criticized Murphy and called him a “Hollywood slave,” saying it is “sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby.”
It goes on to say that Cosby blazed a trail for Murphy and other comedians.
“Mr. Cosby broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come,” the statement said.
“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.”
CNN reported that it has reached out to Murphy’s spokespeople but hasn’t heard back as of Sunday evening.
Murphy first appeared on SNL as a 19-year-old in 1980, leaving four years later and appearing in movies such as Beverly Hills Cop. His much-awaited return to SNL consisted of him reprising beloved past characters such as Mister Robinson, Gumby and Buckwheat.