Hollywood legend and comedy icon Eddie Murphy has revealed his candid views on death and funerals — admitting he not only avoids attending them but has no plans to have one himself.

Ahead of the release of his upcoming Netflix documentary Being Eddie, premiering November 12, the 64-year-old actor spoke openly about his discomfort with the emotional weight and theatricality that often accompany traditional funerals.

“I’ve paid for a lot of funerals, but I don’t go to funerals,” Murphy said. “They shouldn’t even have funerals. I’m like, ‘This funeral is morbid.’ The whole people [in attendance] and seeing your loved one out there, and just emotionally, the whole ritual is too much.”

The actor paid for the funeral of his Harlem Nights co-star actor Redd Foxx.(GETTY)
Over the course of his career, Murphy has quietly covered funeral costs for several close friends and colleagues, including his Harlem Nights co-star Redd Foxx and musician Rick James, with whom he collaborated on the 1985 hit Party All the Time. He has also purchased headstones for late actors William “Billie” Thomas Jr. (best known as Buckwheat in The Little Rascals) and Tim Moore, the star of Amos ’n’ Andy.

Despite this generosity, Murphy insists he finds the entire funeral ritual “overly dramatic” and emotionally draining. For his own passing, he wants none of it.

“When I kick out, I’m not having no funeral and be laying up there and people coming and looking at me, lowering me in the ground,” he declared. “I am to be cremated immediately. And there’s no funeral, and there’s no memorial or none of that s***. Just keep it rolling. None of that trauma. It’s way too f*****g much, a funeral.”

The Shrek and Coming to America star added that he doesn’t care what happens to his ashes afterward. “I don’t give a f*** what they do with them,” he said with a laugh. “Just as long as you don’t have people standing around with my ashes. I’m not trying to be in the urn while everybody’s crying. I don’t want to have that moment. Crying is allowed. I’m just talking about the whole ritual of a funeral — it’s just too much for me.”

Murphy’s aversion to funerals likely stems from early personal loss. His father was tragically killed when Eddie was only eight years old, a formative experience that shaped his understanding of grief and mortality. He later lost his uncle Raymond Leon in 2013 and his beloved brother Charlie Murphy, who died from leukemia in 2017 at age 57.

Being Eddie, directed by Reginald Hudlin, promises to offer an intimate look at both Murphy’s professional journey and personal philosophy — from his rise on Saturday Night Live to his reflections on fame, family, and the idea of living without unnecessary sorrow. The film portrays a man who has learned to balance laughter and loss on his own terms.

With characteristic humor and honesty, Murphy’s remarks serve as a reminder that even the biggest stars grapple with mortality — only, perhaps, with a little more laughter and a lot less ritual.

Being Eddie premieres Wednesday, November 12, on Netflix.

Sources: USA Today, AARP, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian.