Eddie Murphy clears up Oscars exit after losing to Alan Arkin

Eddie Murphy is finally setting the record straight about why he left the 2007 Academy Awards early after losing Best Supporting Actor.

The Pickup star, 64, was nominated for his role as James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls, but the Oscar went to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine. Despite winning several awards leading up to the ceremony, Murphy says there were no hard feelings—just discomfort.

"What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder," Murphy told Entertainment Weekly while promoting his Netflix documentary Being Eddie.

"Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, 'Oh, no, no, I'm not gonna be this guy all night. Let's just leave,'" he recalled. “I didn't storm out. I was like, ‘I'm not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.' ”

Murphy said rumours that he left out of anger were false. He even predicted Arkin’s win months earlier after watching Little Miss Sunshine.

"I literally watched the movie… and I said, 'Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody's Oscar,'" Murphy said. “He could steal somebody's Oscar,' then he stole mine,” before adding with a laugh, "No, I don't feel like he stole mine."

Murphy later reflected on the Oscars process, calling it “more art than science,” and praised Arkin, who died in 2023, saying, "He totally deserves his Oscar for his whole career. He's an amazing actor."

In Being Eddie, Murphy also joked about attending award shows: "Whenever I lose, I'm like, 'These mother***ers made me come all the way down… I could have f***ing lost at home.'"

Being Eddie is now streaming on Netflix.