The Controversial Reason Billy Crystal Replaced Eddie Murphy At The Oscars

We all have our favorite Oscars ceremony host, but it wouldn't be wholly inaccurate to name Billy Crystal as the best to ever do the job. Crystal, an affable song-and-comedy man (who was cut from the first episode of "SNL"), hosted the ceremony from 1990 to 1993, with returns in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004. Crystal, while game when finally on stage, has made no secrets about the times he wanted to step down. In 1998, he even announced to the audience that he didn't want to host the Oscars that year, but that the Academy talked him into it. 

The Academy has experimented wildly with hosts over the years, inviting people like Seth MacFarlane, Chris Rock, Neil Patrick Harris, and Hugh Jackman to take the job. Steve Martin and Martin Short hosted once. No one liked the year Anne Hathaway and James Franco served. One disastrous year, the Academy decided not to have a host.

In 2012, Eddie Murphy was slated to serve as the host of the Oscars ceremony, and he seemed like a natural choice. Murphy had been a comedian for decades and was one of the biggest movie stars in the world for a spell, so he knew the Hollywood establishment but was also comfortable on stage. Also, he and Crystal had both worked on "Saturday Night Live," implying that both performers would bring a comparable vibe. 

Murphy, however, never got a chance to host. It seems that Murphy was going to perform under the eye of producer Brett Ratner, his director on the film "Tower Heist." When Brett Ratner used an anti-LGBTQIA+ slur on "The Howard Stern Show," however, the Academy asked him to step down as producer. When Ratner walked away, Eddie Murphy seemingly quit in solidarity, possibly feeling Ratner was treated unfairly. Brian Grazer replaced Ratner, and Billy Crystal was convinced to return in Murphy's place.

The story was reported on by the Los Angeles Times in 2011, and they noted that Ratner used a slur, although one has to listen to the "Howard Stern Show" episode to find out what it is. It seems that, after completing production on "Tower Heist," Ratner had a crass conversation about its making, noting that he and his cast steamed through filming rather quickly. "Rehearsals," he said, "are for f**s." 

Ratner resigned from his co-producing position at the Oscars shortly thereafter. Such a slur, however jocular it may be, was not acceptable to the executives at ABC. The BBC reported a little later, however, that Murphy also quit in response to Ratner's dropping out. Murphy gave no statement on the matter, only to say that his quitting was not bitter or angry. Everyone was okay with it. One can only assume that Murphy felt Ratner's comment was a "shock comedy" moment. Murphy, after all, often used slurs and shocking language in his own standup routines back in the 1980s. Murphy, however, wasn't one of the many comedians who have complained about censorship, or how sensitive language has curtailed their ability to be confrontational or funny. He may have seen an injustice in Ratner's need to step down but didn't comment.

All of this, of course, is speculation. It's just as likely Murphy was embarrassed by Ratner's use of a slur, and felt uncomfortable working with him after he used it so brazenly in public. But, again, Murphy expressed no recorded outrage on the matter. 

The Hollywood Reporter noted in November 2011 that Crystal had been selected to replace Murphy, and everything went on according to plan from that point forward. Because Murphy didn't make a statement, and because he's never commented on his quitting, all we have is a series of reportage and thoughts of what might have been. Murphy, however, would still make an excellent host of the Oscars.