The actor and comedian was honored at last night’s Golden Globes award ceremony with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The award is named after director Cecil B. DeMille, who was the first recipient in 1952. It’s awarded each year for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” While he spent a moment thanking some of those closest to him in his personal life and on his team, we’d expect nothing less than for him to offer some helpful advice to the newbies in the industry in the form of a joke; we just didn’t anticipate that it would be another Will Smith joke. Murphy took the stage following a heartfelt introduction from Tracy Morgan and Jamie Lee Curtis, in which Morgan credited Murphy as his inspiration for starting comedy and Curtis called him “one of the most talented, funniest and charismatic artists working today,” “This is very nice,” he began, admiring the award in his hands. “I want to say thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press for bestowing this prestigious honor on me. I’ve been in show business for 46 years, and I’ve been in the movie business for 41 years, so this has been a long time in the making and it’s greatly appreciated.” He went on to thank his fiancée and his children for their love, support, and inspiration, as well as several members of his team. “Like I said, I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he then continued. “So I could literally stand up here and keep saying thank you ’til they play the piano, but I’m gonna wrap it up and just say something to all the new up-and-coming dreamers and artists that are in the room tonight. I want to let you know that there is a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity, and peace of mind. There’s a blueprint, and I’ve followed it my whole career. It’s very simple; there’s three things. You just do these three things: Pay your taxes, mind your business, and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out of your f—–g mouth!” He was met with uproarious applause, the joke making a much better impression on the audience than host Jerrod Carmichael’s did, but perhaps we can still make that the final one of 2023 (and ever!)?
