Eddie Murphy explains how Bill Cosby viewed him as a ‘threat’ in comedy space

Eddie Murphy has recently explained how Bill Cosby viewed him as a threat in the comedy space in the 80s.

Speaking on the latest episode of The New York Times' The Interview podcast, Eddie responded to a question whether it was true that late comedian Richard Pryor once gave him a “hard time” early in his career.

“No, he didn't. When did Richard Pryor give me a hard time?” replied the Dr. DoLittle actor.

Eddie added, “Bill Cosby gave me a hard time.”

The Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F actor revealed Bill would take issue with “language” he would use in his comedy routines.

“Language was the way he could come at it,” said Eddie.

The actor admitted, “It wasn't so much language; it was the times that we were in. This is back when it was, you know, one Black person at a time was getting in the mix.”

“When I come on the scene, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby were like, 'Oh, this is the new thing that's coming up?' If there's a new thing coming on, that's a threat to whatever their thing is. That's what Bill Cosby had,” explained Eddie.

The actor recalled, “Bill Cosby could come at me with 'Oh, the language!' when it was more: 'It's one at a time, and is this the new guy who's gonna knock me out of the spot?' That's what was going on back then.”

Eddie pointed out that he never saw comedy space like that at the time.

“They were competitive in that respect. I wasn't even thinking about them like that — I was puppy-dogging both of them when I met them,” remarked the actor.