Bill Cosby applauds Eddie Murphy over ‘Saturday Night Live’ 40th Anniversary Special decision

SNL -While there have been a variety of different stories that have come out about the “Saturday Night Live” 40th Anniversary Special, one that clearly struck one of the biggest nerves with us pertains to Eddie Murphy, and his decision to not really be a part of the show.

If you watched the broadcast itself on NBC, then you know already that his idea of making an appearance was mostly regurgitating what he said on the red carpet during the show, and then deciding to stop speaking long before he was really supposed to. However, what we learned behind the scenes via Norm MacDonald (see the tweets below) is that the original hope for the show was for him to play Bill Cosby during the “Celebrity Jeopardy” skit. The lines eventually went to Kenan Thompson instead, after Murphy decided that he did not want to tear down the sitcom star, who has been accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women.

After these revelations came to light, Cosby released a short statement making his feelings on this subject incredibly clear: “I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions.” Well, did you really expect for there to be any other sort of response from him? Honestly, we’re surprised that Cosby really cares that much, since “SNL” is clearly just a comedy show, and making fun of people is just something that they do. Maybe he does feel like this is a nice show of loyalty from Eddie, but that is really all that it is.

Without Eddie, Cosby probably will continue to be ridiculed on the show, just as he has been in other venues of the media. His concerts have also been protested and heckled.

To view some other reaction related to the special, including why Cheri Oteri was not present, head over to the link here. Also, sign up today to get some further TV updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)

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