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Eddie Murphy Spills the Tea on His Infamous 2007 Oscars Walkout: It Wasn’t Anger, Just… Awkwardness!
Hollywood legend Eddie Murphy is finally clearing the air about that time he famously dipped out of the 2007 Academy Awards after losing the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Turns out, it wasn’t a fit of rage, but more of a “please-stop-patting-my-shoulder” situation!
Back in ’07, Murphy was riding high, nominated for his role as James “Thunder” Early in the musical drama “Dreamgirls.” He was a Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice winner for the part, making him the hot favorite for Oscar gold. But alas, the statuette went to Alan Arkin for “Little Miss Sunshine.”
Naturally, whispers started flying that Murphy had stormed off in a huff. But in a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, the “Nutty Professor” star set the record straight.
“What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder,” Murphy explained. “Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder.
And I was like, oh, no, no, I’m not gonna be this guy all night. Let’s just leave.
I didn’t storm out. I was like, I’m not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.”
Can you imagine? Being the “sympathy guy” at the Oscars? We totally get it, Eddie.
Interestingly, Murphy actually saw Arkin’s upset coming. He recalled watching “Little Miss Sunshine” months before its release and telling a friend, “Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody’s Oscar.”
He then laughed, adding, “He could steal somebody’s Oscar,’ then he stole mine.” But no hard feelings, he clarified, “No, I don’t feel like he stole mine.”
Murphy, known for his sharp wit, shared that he believes “winning an Oscar is more art than science.” He elaborated, “It’s not like oh, you do this, and you do that, and you win the Oscar… it’s all this intangible stuff that comes with winning: campaigning and your past stuff and what do they owe you and s***.
All of that stuff comes into play when you get Oscars.” He concluded that Arkin “totally deserves his Oscar for his whole career.
He’s an amazing actor.”
This isn’t the first time Murphy has playfully poked fun at the awards circuit. In his new Netflix documentary, “Being Eddie,” he expressed his frustration with the whole “get dressed up, show up, and lose” routine.
“The mindf*** for me is that I get dressed and come to the thing, ‘cause I would usually not go to award shows,” he said in the film. “Whenever I lose, I’m like, ‘These motherf***ers made me come all the way down.
I could have fing lost at home. I’m all in the fing tuxedo.
What a waste of time.'”
And let’s not forget his legendary moment at the 1995 Oscars where he called out the Academy for their lack of recognition for Black talent. He joked that he’d probably never win an Oscar for saying it, adding, “Actually, I might not get in any trouble because the way it’s been going, about every 20 years we’ve been getting one, so we ain’t due until about 2004. By that time, this will all blow over.”
Murphy playfully suggested in his documentary that his candid remarks might be the reason he hasn’t snagged an Oscar yet. “The next day, it was like I didn’t say anything…
I haven’t gotten an Oscar, man. I’ve done everything.
I’ve played everything.” He then added with a smirk, “I’ve done everything, and I’ve never gotten an Oscar, but I don’t think it’s because of that.”
Classic Eddie. Always keeping us guessing, and always keeping it real.