Eddie Murphy says Robin Williams tried to talk him out of critical Oscars speech: 'Why go there?'
- - Eddie Murphy says Robin Williams tried to talk him out of critical Oscars speech: 'Why go there?'
Jillian SederholmNovember 11, 2025 at 10:48 PM
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Oscars/Youtube
Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams at the 1988 Academy AwardsKey Points -
Eddie Murphy gave a sharp speech at the 1988 Oscars about the Academy overlooking Black performers.
The comedian tells EW fellow comic Robin Williams tried to talk him out of it, worrying it wouldn't come off as funny.
In Netflix's Being Eddie documentary, Murphy laments that the speech did not get more attention at the time.
Before handing out the top prize of the night at the 1988 Oscars, Eddie Murphy took Hollywood to task for overlooking Black stars. It was a speech that another comedy giant tried to talk the Coming to America star out of just before he took the podium.
"I remember being with Robin Williams backstage. I was like, 'I'm gonna say this.' And he goes to me, like, 'But why go there?'" Murphy recalls, while speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his new Netflix documentary Being Eddie (out Wednesday).
It wasn't the speech's hot-button content that made Williams hesitate as much as Murphy's tone in delivering it.
"I was like, 'Oh, you don't think it's funny?' It was more, is it funny? Rather than it's controversial," Murphy explains. "I was trying to be funny and say a little something, but be funny too. Have a little edge to what I said."
Courtesy of Netflix
Eddie Murphy in 'Being Eddie'
Ultimately, Murphy did make his speech before handing out the Best Picture prize to Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor.
Telling the audience that when his management first extended the Academy's invite to present, he declined. "I'm not going because they haven't recognized Black people in motion pictures," he said in his speech, pointing out that only three performers had won in the Oscars' 60-year history: Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Louis Gossett Jr.
"And I'll probably never win an Oscar for saying this, but hey, what the hey, I gotta say it," his speech continued. "Actually, I might not be in any trouble 'cause the way it's been going is about every 20 years we get one, so we ain't due to about 2004. So by that time, this will all be blown over."
His onstage remarks continued as a retelling of his conversation with his manager. "So I came down here to give the award. I said, 'But I just feel that we have to be recognized as a people. I just want you to know I'm gonna give this award, but Black people will not ride the caboose of society, and we will not bring up the rear anymore. And I want you to recognize us.'"
"I wasn't thinking of the ramifications of it," Murphy tells EW. "I was just trying to be funny in the moment and I wanted what I was saying to be relevant."
In Being Eddie, the comic bemoans that his speech did not get the media attention he expected, recalling no headlines about his message the next day.
Still, perhaps the voting body was paying attention: Two years later, Denzel Washington became the next Black Oscar winner in an acting category for his supporting role in Glory.
One thing in Murphy's speech that did come true — for now — is that he did not win an Oscar himself. He was nominated in 2007 for Best Supporting Actor for Dreamgirls, which he ultimately lost to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine.
Paramount/Courtesy Everett
Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy in 'Coming to America'
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Being Eddie chronicles the comedian's legendary career, as a teen stand-up who joined the cast of Saturday Night Live just out of high school, and experienced a meteoric rise as a leading man in films including 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. And just as he did in his Oscars speech, Murphy used his platform to highlight the importance of Black representation in entertainment, often finding himself forced to kick open doors and blaze a trail for others.
Directed by Angus Wall, the documentary features interviews with Murphy and many people who have worked with or been inspired by him, including Arsenio Hall, Brian Grazer, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tracy Morgan, and more.
Being Eddie premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Watch the trailer above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
