What's Up With Eddie?

I'm sitting here watching Coming to America and was reminded of a long standing beef I have with Eddie Murphy. I recognize his brilliance, especially his dominance in the 80s, but I need to take a moment to call his behind out for some really obvious discrimination against sisters who look like him. In fact quite literally who look like him since he himself has played the object of his disdain. The buzz is this cost him the Dreamgirls Oscar (along with that drama with my girl Scary Spice) because people couldn't bring themselves to vote for him once Norbit was out. That movie also brought weight into the discussion but here I'm focused just on the other issue because I can only do one thing at a time. Anyway, those awards are a popularity contest just as much as anything else is. Like Homecoming Court on steroids. 

If you take a look you will see that Mr. Murphy has a long standing pattern of strongly favoring the lighter sisters not only in his personal life but also in his leading ladies. Let's review, starting roughly in the beginning...leaving out Trading Places since he was so new to the game and probably didn't have any casting authority then. I'm also leaving out the action movies because the romance was secondary. But, if you look those up, the facts support my thesis.

In Coming to America, as Prince Akeem of Zamunda, Eddie rejected not one but two beautiful brown skinned sisters in pursuit of his fair queen, the lovely Shari Headley (of whom I was a fan from All My Children...y'all remember she used to date Daryl the Cop on there?). Anyway you can't really hate because why would he want the mindless Imani Izzi (Vanessa Bell Calloway) who actually barked like a dog on request, or the loose gold-digging Patrice McDowell (Allison Dean)? 

As Marcus Graham in Boomerang Eddie famously finally chose good girl Angela Lewis (Halle Berry) after falling in lust with bad girl Jackie Broyer (Robin Givens). Call me nitpicky, but again Eddie cast the light skinned girl in the virtuous, feminine, more innocent role while the sexually adventurous man eating diva was darker. Not to mention Grace Jones as Strangé. No making sexy on screen with Miss Halle other than this hot kiss after Thanksgiving dinner, but we saw plenty happen with Miss Robin. I'm just sayin'! But again here you're rooting for Angela too cuz Miss Halle is just so adorable and sweet, right? 

 

Then there was The Nutty Professor when he fell in love with Jada Pinkett. Who was in charge of that awful wig they made her wear I wonder? Because that 'do was just blasphemy I've pictured her here looking properly fierce. Now I'm a fan of Miss Jada especially of the way she's held it down after popping out all of them babies...and I love the rock band thing...but clearly Eddie's pattern is manifest in his choice of her as a leading lady.

And the one that really sunk his ship, popularity wise, because it was 2006 and quite frankly we are supposed to have evolved beyond all that by now, being post racial and progressive and conscious and inclusive, etc, was this, casting Thandie Newton as the virtuous Kate Thomas juxtaposed against the repulsive Rasputia played by himself.

He pulled the Norbit nonsense pictured above while simultaneously publicly dissing the only kinda brown skinned woman he had ever publicly dated (Scary Spice Melanie Brown) and down down down went his star. And the baby WAS his! In the end it totally boosted her career. I think they call that Karma.

Frankly I think he deserved the Oscar because he really is super talented and brought tears to my eyes in Dreamgirls. But unfortunately he followed the Norbit and Scary incidents closely with another spectacular debacle with ex Mrs. Babyface Tracey Edmonds and the wedding that wasn't a real wedding and a "marriage" that was over within a few weeks...and his fate in the public's eye was sealed.

 

By the way here he is with his ex wife and the mother of most of his many many children. Nicole has also held it down quite admirably after popping out a ridiculous number of babies. Smart girl. ;-)

Has anybody heard from Eddie since all that mess? What's he up to? Is he in redbone rehab?