By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedian Eddie Murphy will accept a lifetime achievement honor next month at the Golden Globes, the annual ceremony that is trying to restore its reputation in Hollywood after a diversity and ethics scandal.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that votes on the Globe winners, announced on Wednesday that Murphy would receive the Cecil B. DeMille award to celebrate his contributions to entertainment.
Murphy, 61, was a cast member on television sketch show “Saturday Night Live” and went on to star in films such as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “The Nutty Professor,” “48 Hours” and “Dreamgirls.”
Previous DeMille award recipients have included Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Sophia Loren, Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro.
The honor for Murphy adds a big name to the Globes telecast on Jan. 10. The ceremony has been known as a star-studded, alcohol-fueled event that kicks off Hollywood’s awards season, but it is unclear which nominees will attend the upcoming ceremony.
The Globes were tainted after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation probed the HFPA’s practices and revealed the organization had no Black members.
Longtime broadcaster NBC dropped the 2022 telecast, but the Comcast-owned network agreed to air the Globes again in 2023 after the organization made reforms.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
