<\/p>\n
Eddie Murphy Defends His Controversial Movie Nearly 2 Decades After Its Premiere\u00a0<\/a> originally appeared on Parade<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy<\/strong><\/a>is defending his highly criticized 2007 film, Norbit<\/em>.<\/p>\n Entertainment Weekly<\/a> reported Murphy said he still has a fondness for Norbit<\/em>, which he co-wrote with his late brother Charlie Murphy, during an August 2025 interview on 360 With Speedy<\/a>, hosted by Complex’s Speedy Morman. In addition, he noted that he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as James (Jimmy) “Thunder” Early in the 2006 musical film, Dreamgirls<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI love\u00a0Norbit<\/em>. Norbit\u00a0<\/em>came out right after I got that Oscar nomination. There were articles like, \u2018How can he get an Oscar, he did this?\u2019 They\u2019re two different movies,” said the 64-year-old in the interview. “I wrote\u00a0Norbit<\/em>\u00a0with my brother, Charlie, and we think\u00a0Norbit\u00a0<\/em>is funny. It came out and they gave me a Razzie Awards for worst actress, worst actor, and worst actor of the decade. And I was like, \u2018Come on now, s— ain\u2019t that bad.\u2019 They was just hatin’ on me.”<\/p>\n He also said he still finds humor in Norbit<\/em>, wherein he played the characters, Norbit Albert Rice, Rasputia Latimore, and Mr. Wong.<\/p>\n “To this day, I like\u00a0Norbit<\/em>. There\u2019s stuff in\u00a0Norbit\u00a0<\/em>that makes me laugh,” said Murphy during the August 2025 interview.<\/p>\n He also said he thinks his movies, Pluto Nash<\/em> and Holy Man<\/em>, are worse than Norbit<\/em>.<\/p>\n According to Entertainment Weekly, Norbit <\/em>focuses on the titular character who is bullied by his wife, Rasputia, and wants to pursue a romantic relationship with his childhood friend, Kate Thomas (Thandie Newton<\/a>). In a 2007 interview with Ron’s World<\/a>, Murphy suggested he wasn’t concerned about those offended by his choice to wear a padded suit and prosthetics to play Rasputia.<\/p>\n In addition, he compared the story of Norbit to the classic fairytale, Cinderella<\/em>.<\/p>\n “The core of our story is Cinderella. [Rasputia is] his wife, but she’s like the evil stepsister. This is not real people. It’s old story stuff,” said Murphy in the 2007 interview.<\/p>\n In addition, Murphy suggested he didn’t get accolades from critics until he decided to take on more serious roles, like Jimmy in Dreamgirls<\/em>.<\/p>\n “I got a [Oscar] nomination for stepping outside myself. I didn’t think I would ever [get nominated for an Oscar]. In The Nutty Professor<\/em>, I played six people, seven people in the movie. But because it’s a comedy. They don’t look at how funny it is. You have to step outside of it for them to notice you,” said Murphy.<\/p>\n