Eddie Murphy insists he never 'made fun' of Michael Jackson

Eddie Murphy has insisted he never "made fun" of Michael Jackson with his impersonations.

The comedian imitated the late King of Pop during his days on Saturday Night Live in the early '80s.

But during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, Eddie argued that his impersonation was always "funny".

"If you look at the stuff I did on Michael, it was never mean-spirited. It was always funny stuff, because I knew him. I never made fun of him," he said. "But I wasn't making fun of him. He was Michael and I was doing funny Michael."

Eddie also claimed Michael's real speaking voice was lower than what he used in public.

"His voice wasn't high like that in person (it was lower)," the 61-year-old continued.

Michael died at the age of 50 in 2009.

Elsewhere in the interview, Eddie revealed that he owns the real version of the painting The Sugar Shack by Ernie Barnes that was featured on the 1970s sitcom Good Times.

A replica painted by Ernie sold at auction in May 2022 for $15.2 million (£12.2 million).

"I have that painting now. The duplicate of that painting Ernie Barnes, who painted the original, painted the duplicate, and the duplicate just sold at Christie's for $16 million. I have the real one. I think I paid $50,00 for that. After Marvin Gaye passed away, I brought it from his estate," he explained.

"So, you're rich then?" Jimmy asked jokingly, to which Eddie quipped, "I got that painting."