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Eddie Murphy thought Bill Cosby's multiple sexual assault case is not something to joke over. The comic actor finally explained in an interview on why he refused to portray Cosby in the "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary special back in February this year.

Former "SNL" cast member Norm MacDonald previously revealed in several now-deleted tweets that Murphy was asked to appear as Cosby for the episode. MacDonald said Murphy turned down the chance, writing "Eddie decides the laughs are not worth it. He will not kick a man when he is down." Kenan Thompson wound up playing Cosby in "Celebrity Jeopardy".

Cosby actually heard about Murphy's refusal to joke on his expense. "I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions," Cosby said in a statement released by his spokesperson.

Murphy thought MacDonald wrote a "hysterical" piece on the sketch but he thought it was appropriate. "It's horrible," Murphy said in an interview with The Washington Post. "There's nothing funny about it. If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you're just hurting people. You're hurting him. You're hurting his accusers. I was like, 'Hey, I'm coming back to SNL for the anniversary, I'm not turning my moment on the show into this other thing'."

In the same interview, Murphy also mentioned working on a new TV show aimed for HBO. Hoping to work on it with Spike Lee, Murphy said he would be playing former D.C. mayor Marion Barry.