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Eddie Murphy<\/a>\u00a0said\u00a0Robin Williams<\/a>\u00a0questioned his speech about the Oscars\u2019<\/a>\u00a0 history of slighting Black actors during the 1988 Academy Awards ceremony.<\/p>\n Murphy was presenting the award for Best Picture and had written a bit that pointed out the rarity of Black performers winning in the acting categories, noting only three had won to that point. (The number is now in the 20s<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Buzz: \u2018Who Dis?\u2019 Valerie Bertinelli Drastically Alters Her Appearance<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI remember being with Robin Williams backstage,\u201d Murphy told Entertainment Weekly<\/a> in a story published Tuesday. \u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna say this.\u2019 And he goes to me, like, \u2018But why go there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy was already a star from \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d and \u201cBeverly Hills Cop,\u201d so his words could carry heft. It wasn\u2019t the intent that bothered Williams, apparently; it was that the protest didn\u2019t pack enough laughs, according to the \u201cComing to America\u201d star.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, you don\u2019t think it\u2019s funny?\u2019 It was more, is it funny? Rather than it\u2019s controversial,\u201d Murphy explained. \u201cI was trying to be funny and say a little something, but be funny too. Have a little edge to what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the advice from Williams, who\u00a0died in 2014<\/a>, Murphy went on with his speech that evening anyway, and it did get laughs as he drove home his point.<\/p>\n