Bill Cosby reps brands Eddie Murphy 'a Hollywood slave' after he ridicules jailed comedian on 'Saturday Night Live'

Bill Cosby's reps have taken aim at Eddie Murphy after the veteran comedian mentioned him while presenting Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

Murphy returned to the show for the first time in 35 years over the weekend, mentioning Cosby in his opening monologue with a mild reference about the disgraced comedian's imprisonment for aggravated indecent assault.

Read more: Eddie Murphy on his surreal encounter with Prince

“My kids are actually pretty much my whole life now.” Murphy said.

“And you know what—if you told me thirty years ago that I would be this boring, stay-at-home, you know, house dad, and Bill Cosby would be in jail? Even I would have taken that bet. Who is America’s dad now?”

In response, Cosby's publicist Andrew Wyatt wrote in a lengthy post to Instagram:

“Mr. Cosby became the first Black to win an Emmy for his role in I Spy and Mr. Cosby broke color barriers in the Entertainment Industry, so that Blacks like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappell, Kevin Hart and et al., could have an opportunity to showcase their talents for many generations to come.

“It is sad that Mr. Murphy would take this glorious moment of returning to SNL and make disparaging remarks against Mr. Cosby. One would think that Mr. Murphy was given his freedom to leave the plantation, so that he could make his own decisions; but he decided to sell himself back to being a Hollywood Slave.

Read more: Eddie Murphy 'Over the Moon' with Coming to America Sequel

“Stepin Fetchit plus cooning equals the destruction of Black Men in Hollywood. Remember, Mr. Murphy, that Bill Cosby became legendary because he used comedy to humanize all races, religions and genders; but your attacking Mr. Cosby helps you embark on just becoming click bait. Hopefully, you will be amenable to having a meeting of the minds conversation, in order to discuss how we can use our collective platforms to enhance Black people rather than bringing all of us down together.”

Cosby was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault following a trial in April last year.

Dozens of other women have accused the 80-year-old comedian of similar sexual assaults, claims Cosby denies.

He is currently serving a three to 10 year sentence.