Eddie Murphy's Will Smith joke brings the house down at Golden Globes. Watch

Eddie Murphy was honoured at the Golden Globes with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Veteran actor and comic Eddie Murphy was honoured at the Golden Globes with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment” and his speech, with an unexpected twist at the end, evoked a rousing response from the audience.

The 61-year-old started his acceptance speech in the traditional manner and then as it progressed he had some advice for young actors trying to make it in the industry.

“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,” Murphy said. “There’s a blueprint, and I followed it my whole career. It’s very simple, it’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- -king mouth!”

Watch the viral video here:

The biggest round of applause for Eddie Murphy, this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient! Your decades of unbeatable comedy and incredible performances deserve to be acknowledged and celebrated! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/IWiU6LEmmf

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2023

The last bit, where he brought the house down with a call back to last year’s Oscar’s slapgate incident when Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage and then asked him to keep his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s name, out of his mouth. He used expletives, resorted to violence and yet won that night for best actor and in a teary-eyed acceptance speech apologised for his actions. He received a standing ovation.

Later, the controversy blew up and Smith apologised to Rock and faced flak on the internet for having reacted in such a manner over a joke on Pinkett-Smith’s hairstyle. She suffers from alopecia and Rock’s joke (which we don’t know whether he knew about her condition) rubbed her the wrong way prompting Smith to storm to the stage and slap him.

Murphy too imitated Smith at the awards today, with his voice raised as he uttered the words, now associated infamously with the “Men in Black” star. Murphy too got a standing ovation as he exited the stage and his speech is now viral.

On his joke, Murphy later told Access Hollywood backstage that the joke wasn’t a punchline and that he thought it landed and worked fine.

Actor Seth Rogen, on being asked about Murphy’s speech, said: “He told one joke and it was a good one”.