Eddie Murphy returns to stand-up in the upcoming charity comedy special helmed by media mogul Bryan Allen. The comic legend will join Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, and Keenan Thompson for Allen’s Feeding America Comedy Festival next month.
The three-hour special will stream on the Allen Media Group television networks Comedy.TV and The Weather Channel, as well as on the free streaming service app Local Now. Viewers will be encouraged to donate to Feeding America during the comedy event.
“In partnership with Feeding America, my comedian friends and all of us at Allen Media Group are pleased to announce this global live-streaming comedy event on May 9th,” Allen said in a statement. “Laughter s often the best medicine, and we are extremely motivated to bring attention to issues of food insecurity, and to assistant in providing meals to families across the county who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The packed lineup includes Taraji P. Henson, Marlon Wayans, Margaret Cho, Jamie Kennedy, and Sheryl Underwood.
Feeding America has been providing meals for those in need for more than 40 years. The organization has been at the forefront of providing meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it has created is shining a light on the fragile nature of people’s household budgets,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “Millions more of our neighbors are turning to food banks for help and we cannot thank Byron Allen and Allen Media Group enough for their support to raise funds and awareness of our work.”
The Feeding America Comedy Festival premiers on Saturday, May 9, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.