Overview
- On a November episode of his Fly on the Wall podcast, Spade said he spent roughly 25 years trying to “win [Murphy] back” after the 1995 incident.
- In the Dec. 9, 1995 “Hollywood Minute” segment, Spade joked over a photo of Murphy, “Look, children, it’s a falling star, make a wish,” referencing Vampire in Brooklyn’s box-office slump.
- Murphy has called the jab a “cheap shot” that felt “racist,” later clarifying his frustration was aimed at SNL’s approval process, and he has since said he is “cool with everybody.”
- Spade says he and Murphy spoke at SNL’s 50th anniversary in February 2025 and that Murphy indicated they were “all good.”
- Lorne Michaels has acknowledged approving the joke was a mistake, and the rift contributed to Murphy skipping SNL’s 25th anniversary in 1999 before returning for the 40th in 2015 and hosting in 2019.