Eddie Murphy Loves Working From Home as Much as You Do
The American workspace has changed drastically over the last three years in response to the COVID pandemic as companies unintentionally proved to many of their employees that no part of their job actually requires them to leave the house. Anyone who is joyfully slouching at their in-home desk wearing stained sweatpants while breezing through their workload, just know — you’re exactly like Eddie Murphy.
The comedy icon is currently on the press tour for the upcoming rom-com You People, and the press junkets that used to be the bane of many celebrities’ existence have become a much more comfortable chore as 12-hour interview gauntlets on frigid, sterile sound stages have been replaced by remote Zoom meetings in what Murphy has called “the one good thing to come out of COVID.”
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Speaking with KTLA from the comfort of his hotel room, the Saturday Night Live legend discussed his new film, his Will Smith slap joke and the ridiculously relatable joys of working from his living room.
When asked about the merits of our new remote work culture that has extended even to the uppermost echelons of society, Murphy said, “For me, it’s a positive, because I just have to come downstairs and sit down.” Murphy explained how the flexible work model has made the more monotonous demands of superstar life much more manageable, saying, “I’ve done these interviews and sometimes they’ll be like, ‘This is the first time I’ve talked to you, and you seem so relaxed.’ It’s because I’m downstairs in my house chilling!”
On the topic of You People, the Jonah Hill-written and starred story of a white Jewish man who wants to marry a woman from a Black muslim family in which Murphy plays the father of Hill’s love interest, the comedian explained, “It’s a nice little way to do a romantic comedy. Most romantic comedies don’t have an edge to them.” You People has already drawn some uncomfortable criticism of the interracial elements in its story, which Murphy did not shy away from addressing. “This has this racial conversation going on, and racial tension is at a fever pitch in the country,” he remarked. “It’s the closest you’ll get to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
Murphy also also addressed a memorable moment from his acceptance speech for the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes back on January 10th — he made a much-needed joke about the infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slapping incident from last year’s Oscars as he gave young aspiring artists three pieces of valuable advice for a successful life: “Pay your taxes, mind your business and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth!”
The joke was workshopped between Murphy and his friend Arsenio Hall who simply wanted to prove that Murphy could still write a zinger long after he hung up his stand-up spurs. Murphy said that the one-liner wasn’t a statement or an attack, it was “just a good solid joke! I can still write a joke!”
After a career as productive as Murphy’s, it’s understandable that the simple joy of telling stories like these from the comfort of a hotel room or a living room couch is as relieving and relaxing for him as it is for the rest of us who plug away at our 9-to-5s from a chair six feet away from our beds. Working from home is a universal joy — just like Eddie Murphy.
