NEED TO KNOW
Eddie Murphy doesn’t forget a good story, especially when it involves Beyoncé.
During an appearance on the Thursday, Aug. 7, edition of 360 With Speedy, the actor was asked to share a story about the singer. This led him to reflect on a candid on-set moment he witnessed between his Dreamgirls costars Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson.
“I did Dreamgirls right when I was getting divorced,” said Murphy, referring to Nicole Murphy, who filed for divorce from the actor in 2005 after 12 years of marriage.
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“I was kind of like on automatic pilot, and I don’t remember a lot of making the movie,” he said about the film, which hit theaters in December 2006.
“My Beyoncé memory — and neither one of them knows that I know this — I watched Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé, they were in between shots, they were on stage, and Jennifer was new in show business and she had, I guess a finger, right between, was ashy, and she was licking her fingers and getting the ash like that,” said Murphy while demonstrating the motion.
Murphy said that Beyoncé immediately grabbed Hudson and said, “Ooh girl, don’t do that. I’ll get you some cream.”
“And it was quiet between the two of them, but I saw it,” said Murphy. “And this might be the first time I share that with anyone. That’s my Beyoncé memory.”
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Dreamgirls is based on a 1981 Broadway musical of the same name, which originated with Loretta Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Jennifer Holliday, who played Lorrell Robinson, Deena Jones, and Effie White, respectively.
For the 2006 film, Anika Noni Rose played Lorrell, Beyoncé played Deena, and Hudson played Effie. The movie musical also starred Jamie Foxx and Danny Glover.
In the film adaptation, Effie is initially the lead singer, but is pushed aside by manager Curtis (Foxx), who puts Deena front and center, causing friction. The story follows all the ins and outs of their rise to fame.
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Hudson’s performance allowed her to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. That year, Dreamgirls was up for eight Oscars.
