Eddie Murphy Admits Real Reason For Leaving Oscars After ‘Dreamgirls’ Loss

Eddie Murphy sets the record straight on why he left the 2007 Oscars early after losing the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

The 64-year-old actor and comedian received his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of James “Thunder” in early 2006 in the musical drama “Dreamgirls,” which also starred Jamie FoxxBeyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose and Danny Glover.

Murphy left the ceremony shortly after losing to “Little Miss Sunshine” star Alan Arkin, missing Hudson’s win for best supporting actress and her co-stars’ rendition of three “Dreamgirls” songs nominated for best original song.

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At the time, Murphy’s early departure sparked rumors that he left in anger over his loss. In a recent interview with Weekly entertainment, “The Nutty Professor” star responded to long-standing speculation and explained why he actually left the ceremony early.

“What happened was that I was at the OscarsI had lost, and then people kept coming to me and kept going [patting] me on my shoulder,” Murphy told the outlet. “Clint Eastwood came over and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, oh, no, no, I’m not going to be that guy all night. Let’s go. I didn’t storm off. I was like, I’m not going to be the sympathy guy all night. »

At the time, Murphy was widely considered the front-runner for the Oscar heading into the ceremony, as his role had already earned him a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award, and a Critics’ Choice Award. However, Arkin gained momentum late as her performance in “Little Miss Sunshine” gained momentum late as the film gained popularity.

In the 2006 comedy-drama, Arkin, who died in 2023 at the age of 89, played Edwin Hoover, the grumpy and foul-mouthed grandfather of beauty pageant contestant Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin).

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Murphy recalled that he predicted Arkin’s upset victory after first watching “Little Miss Sunshine” months before its release, describing the late actor’s performance in the film as “hysterically funny.”

“Jeff Katzenberg invited me to see ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ six months before it came out in theaters, and I literally watched the movie and I looked at Alan – and I hadn’t been nominated yet or anything – and I watched the movie and I turned to Jeff afterwards and said, ‘Now, that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal someone’s Oscar,'” Murphy recalled.

“I said those exact words. I was like, ‘He could steal someone’s Oscar,’ and then he stole mine,” Murphy said with a laugh before adding, “No, I don’t feel like he stole mine.”

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Murphy then shared the lesson he learned from his loss, telling Entertainment Weekly that he thought “winning an Oscar was more of an art than a science.”

“It’s not like you do this, you do that and you win the Oscar,” he explained. “No, it’s all that intangible stuff that comes with winning: the campaign and your past stuff and what do you owe and…. All that stuff comes into play when you get Oscars.”

Murphy told the outlet that he thought Arkin checked all the boxes for victory that year.

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“When you add all that up, he totally deserves his lifetime achievement Oscar,” Murphy said. “He’s an incredible actor.”

In his new Netflix documentary “Being Eddie,” expressed Murphy his heartbreak of preparing for and attending awards shows only to lose.

“What I’m thinking is, I’m getting dressed and coming, because usually I wouldn’t go to awards shows,” he said in the film, per Entertainment Weekly. “Every time I lose, I’m like, ‘Those motherfuckers took me all the way down. I could have lost at home. I’m all in a tuxedo. What a waste of time.'”

Murphy previously criticized the Academy for failing to recognize black talent when presenting an award at the 67th annual Academy Awards in 1995.

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“When they came to me and said they wanted me to present the Best Picture award, my manager came to me and told me the Academy had chosen me,” Murphy told the crowd. “My first reaction was, ‘No, I’m not going.’ And my manager said, “Why? And I said, “I’m not going because they didn’t recognize black people in the movies.” » And he said, “What are you talking about?” Black people win the Oscars.’”

“I’ll probably never win an Oscar for saying that, but hey, what the hell,” he said. “Actually, I might not have any problems because the way it’s going, we have one every 20 years or so, so we won’t get there until about 2004. By then, this will all be sorted.

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“I just want you to know that I’m going to give this award, but black people won’t ride in the corporate van and we won’t bring up the rear anymore. I want you to recognize us.” They said, “All right, it’s done. » I said, “When do I have to be there?” He said, “Well, you don’t have to arrive until nine or ten. It’s the last awards show of the evening.”

Murphy said his comments could be the reason he never received an Oscar.

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“The next day, it was like I hadn’t said anything,” Murphy recalled in the documentary. “There was no picture of me at the Oscars. There was no coverage of me. There was no mention of anything I said. It was like I wasn’t at the Oscars and I didn’t get an Oscar. I didn’t get an Oscar, man. I did everything. I performed everything.”

“I’ve done everything and never received an Oscar, but I don’t think it’s because of that,” Murphy added with a smirk.