Eddie Murphy Delivers Perfect Will Smith Joke at Golden Globes
The comedy legend capped his lifetime achievement award acceptance speech with an epic and unexpected punchline.

Rich Polk/NBC via Getty Images
It was perhaps the least funny acceptance speech from one of the funniest people who’s ever lived.
For several minutes at Tuesday night’s Golden Globes, Eddie Murphy sincerely thanked his family, collaborators, and others during a staid acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement on the screen. Even during a very funny introduction, he only cracked a smile when Tracy Morgan joked about Murphy’s 10 children by saying, “Your pullout game is weak.”
“I’ve been doing this for a long time so I could literally stand up here and keep saying thank you until they play the piano,” Murphy said once he took the stage. “But I’m going to wrap it up and say something to all the new up-and-coming dreamers and artists that are in the room tonight.” He went on to describe the “definitive blueprint” to “achieve success, prosperity, longevity, and peace of mind.”
“I followed it my whole career, it’s very simple,” he continued, explaining there are “three things” you need to do, as younger actors like Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams, who won earlier in the night, looked on in awe.
ADVERTISEMENT
The three things, Murphy concluded, are, “Pay your taxes, mind your business, and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!”
The end of his sentence was bleeped out on television, but just as on Oscar night last year, there was no denying what he said. And it brought down the house.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.

