Why Jamie Foxx told Eddie Murphy ‘you ain’t funny, bro’ and urged him to quit standup

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy clearly have the type of friendship where they can be honest with each other.

During a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, which also included Chelsea Handler, Hasan Minhaj, Seth Meyers, Sarah Silverman and Roy Wood Jr., Foxx talked about how his professional success impacted his comedy.

It came up after Meyers joked that he, too, wished he had “almost died” after seeing Foxx’s recent Netflix special, “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…” in which the Oscar-winning actor and comedian detailed his nea- death experience after suffering a stroke.

“I had a special deal for a long time, but I had nothing to talk about,” Foxx said. “What was I going to talk about? I was rich. I was behind my gates.”

He said he believes that his “Dreamgirls” co-star Eddie Murphy had the same issue.

“I remember seeing Eddie Murphy at his house, this was around ‘Coming 2 America,’ and he says he’s going to try to go do stand-up. I say to him, ‘You can’t,’” Foxx said. “He says, ‘Why?’ I say, ‘This ain’t funny. Your house is too nice. Whatever that scent is …’ He had a scent. You know, the s**t that pumps through the house.”

Foxx said he asked Murphy about the scent.

“He said, ‘It’s pomegranate.’ I said, ‘The fact that you know that s**t lets me know that you ain’t funny, bro.’ It was too perfect. And that was me. I was living in that, so I didn’t have anything to talk about,” Foxx said. “Then this stroke happened, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a platform.’ But I don’t want to have to have another stroke, even though we have [a deal for] another hour.”

As for Foxx not having another stroke because he needs comedic material, Handler quipped, “You will if you have to …”

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