In a sea of comedians taking the stance of “belligerent contrarian” under the guise of fighting for the freedom of speech, Dolemite is My Name star Eddie Murphy is one of the old guard who is actually reflecting on past jokes.
In an interview with the New York Times, Murphy said that some of his past jokes from one of his most famous comedy specials, Raw, upset him today. He said that the jokes about relationships and women were from when he was going through a breakup.
“I was a young guy processing a broken heart, you know, kind of an a—,” he said.
According to the interview, Murphy describes himself as a “completely different person” now than he was back in his younger years. He also references his past controversies with homophobic jokes, which populated both Raw and his subsequent hit special Delirious, as one of the reasons he quit stand-up. He said he was “ignorant” back then.
Instead, the comedy for his new Netflix special, his first special in over 30 years, will draw from his experience as a father of 10 children, not to mention three years worth of material he has on a tape recorder.
“I now have a whole lifetime of experiences to draw upon,” he said. “There was a time when I was at the center of everything, what I was doing, and how funny I was and how popular. I’m not at the center. Now my kids are and everything revolves around them.”
Dolemite is My Name, which premiered this year at TIFF, will come to Netflix on October 25.
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