Shootings, stabbings, murder, and the 1989 Eddie Murphy movie that incited nationwide violence
While the finger of blame couldn’t be pointed at Eddie Murphy in any way for the unexpected wave of violence that erupted around one of his movies, some people tried to point it at him anyway.
All he did was make a film, but when it arrived in cinemas, all hell broke loose. It wasn’t just an isolated incident, either, with a spate of violent crimes being reported across the United States, and because there was one common factor that united them, it was inevitable he’d get caught up in the controversy.
Having reached the Hollywood mountaintop in record time, Murphy sought to branch out after 48 Hrs, Trading Places, the first two instalments in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, and Coming to America had confirmed that he was unquestionably the most popular and bankable star in the business.
To do that, he wrote, directed, and played the leading role in 1989’s Harlem Nights, the period-set crime comedy that united him onscreen with his idol, Richard Pryor. Like many of his lesser films, Murphy came to regret his decision to pull triple duty on the picture, but he could never have imagined what would unfold in theatres where it was being shown.
In Southfield, Detroit, all weekend screenings were cancelled after a 17-year-old took a bullet to the face, a 21-year-old was shot in the chest, and a 22-year-old who ran into the road to escape the chaos was struck by traffic, ending up in a critical condition. When the police arrived on the scene, a 24-year-old was subsequently shot by an officer after opening fire first.
“There were so many people in the theatre, and there was so much going on,” eyewitness D’Shanna Watson told Ludington Daily News. “They stopped the movie three times.” That should have been the least of anyone’s concerns, because the violence that plagued Harlem Nights wasn’t restricted to Michigan.
There was another shooting incident in Richmond, California, which claimed the life of 17-year-old Marcel Thompson, multiple stabbings in Boston, Massachusetts, which saw the mayor, Raymond Flynn, blame the movie for the way it “glorifies violence,” and a brawl in a Sacramento theatre that spilt over into the car park and led to gunfire, all during showings of Harlem Nights.
Bob Wachs, Murphy’s manager at the time, was even forced to publicly distance his client from the violence after suggestions from certain corners that he was in some way complicit. “If there’s a fight at McDonald’s, what does that have to do with McDonald’s? If there’s a fight at Giants Stadium, are you going to blame the Giants?” he said. “Of course not. It’s not about the Eddie Murphy movie.”
In most cases, Murphy’s Razzie win for ‘Worst Original Screenplay’, his nomination for ‘Worst Director’, and the picture’s status as his first box office under-performer in years would have been the low point of his association with the misjudged comedy, only for it to be easily overshadowed by a string of bad press.
