Eddie Murphy’s anti-gay comedy special resurfaces on Netflix
An extremely homophobic comedy routine performed by Eddie Murphy in the 1980s has resurfaced online – after it was made available on Netflix.
Online video giant Netflix recently made the comic’s notorious 1983 special ‘Delirious’ available for streaming in the UK.
The comedy special, which does not include a content warning, opens with a five-minute homophobic rant.
Opening the special, Murphy – at the time a young upstart comic – says: “I got some rules when I do my standup, I got rules and shit.
“Faggots aren’t allowed to look at my ass while I’m on stage. That’s why I keep moving while I’m up here.
“You don’t know where the faggot section is, you gotta keep moving. So if they do see it, quick, you switch, they don’t get no long stares.”
Continuing to make anti-gay jokes for several minutes, he claimed he was “scared of gay people”, before insisting straight men could get AIDS because of their girlfriends kissing gay men.
He said: “It petrifies me because girls be hanging out with them. One night they could be in the club having fun with their gay friend, give them a little kiss. And go home with AIDS on their lips!
“And then when her husband, like five years later, Somebody says, ‘Mr. Johnson you have AIDS’. ‘AIDS?! But I’m not homosexual!’, ‘Sure you’re not homosexual!’.”
False claims that AIDS could be transmitted by physical contact were exploited in the 1980s to perpetuate homophobia and marginalise gay men.
The title has a string of one-star reviews from shocked Netflix viewers who were unaware of its extremely homophobic content.
One says: “Homophobic crap! This needs to be taken off this site immediately. I was disgusted by it and couldn’t watch more than five minutes. Unfunny, homophobic rubbish!”
Another adds: “The most homophobic stand up routine I’ve ever seen. Can’t believe all the messed up things he says about AIDS, inclusing saying how you’ll catch AIDS from your girlfriend if she kisses her gay friend. 80s hateful prejudice in full force.”
Displaying a rating of 15 for the special, Netflix describes it as “Raunchy”.
Murphy has long since apologised for the content of the special.
He first disavowed its content in 1996, when he said: “I deeply regret any pain all this has caused. Just like the rest of the world, I am more educated about AIDS in 1996 than I was in 1981.
“I know how serious an issue AIDS is the world over. I know that AIDS isn’t funny. It’s 1996 and I’m a lot smarter about AIDS now.
“I am not homophobic and I am not anti-gay. My wife and I have donated both time and money to AIDS research.
“I’ve had people close to me die from the disease as well. I don’t know a person who hasn’t been touched in some way by this disease.
“Everybody knows somebody who is sick. Black people have been hit harder by this disease than any other group of people on the planet.”
Netflix did not return a request for comment.
