Eddie Murphy took home high honors at the latest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday (Oct. 18). Taking the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the legendary funnyman took a moment to cleverly discuss a past recipient of the award, Bill Cosby. Taking a moment to offer quip about the formerly-beloved comedian being stripped of his awards, Murphy employed his famous impression of Cosby in his proposed response to the controversy.
“Did y’all make Bill give his back? No, ‘cause I know there was a big outcry from people, they was trying to get Bill to give his trophies back. You know you f**ked up when they want you to give your trophies back. He should do one show where he just come out, and he talks crazy now,” Murphy said, before switching into his Cosby voice. “‘I would like to talk to some of the people who feel that I should give back my motherf**king trophies!’”
Murphy previously refused to make a mockery of Cosby during Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary celebration. While the script he was asked to perform as admittedly “hysterical,” Murphy noted that his appearance was about the show’s milestone, not “hurting people.”
“There’s nothing funny about it,” he told The Washington Post. “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.'”
Other comedian in attendance for Murphy’s award acceptance were Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, George Lopez and Kathy Griffith. Watch Eddie Murphy’s Cosby joke during his speech below: