We’ve just had the 2023 Golden Globes, and among the notable award winners was comedy movie legend Eddie Murphy. He won the Cecil B DeMille Award for ‘Outstanding contributions to entertainment’, and during his speech, he included some life advice that poked at fellow actor Will Smith.
“To achieve success, prosperity, and peace of mind, there’s a blueprint, and I’ve followed it my whole career,” Murphy said. “It’s very simple, just do these three things: pay your taxes, mind your business, and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your goddamn mouth.” As you’d expect, that last part got an uproarious response from the crowd.
He’s referencing last year’s Oscars, where action movie star Will Smith got on stage and slapped Chris Rock during the ceremony for making jokes about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia. This became the talk of the night, beyond any awards winners, and remained in the public consciousness for long afterwards.
Murphy’s speech demonstrates as much. It was the only mention of the incident, thankfully, as what matters more are the winners and their speeches and all the great new movies getting honoured.
Some outstanding performers got trophies during the event. Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress for the science fiction movie Everything Everywhere All At Once, Colin Farrell got Best Actor for the drama movie The Banshees of Inisherin, and the delightful Jennifer Coolidge took home Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Television Film for comedy series The White Lotus.
Not even the Will Smith slap could steal their limelight. Have a look at our list of the best movies and best TV series for more awards-worthy work.