Bill Cosby has publicly thanked Eddie Murphy for declining to play the comedian — who has been accused of sexual assault by more than 20 women — in Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special this weekend.
Cosby’s spokesperson said he was “very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions,” NBC reports.
Norm Macdonald tweeted that he had asked Murphy to play Cosby during a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch, but said Murphy refused:
Kenan Thompson played Cosby instead.
Read next: 5 Essential Moments from SNL‘s 40th Anniversary Special
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
Listen to the most important stories of the day.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Inside Ukraine's Push to Try Putin For War Crimes
- Bad Bunny's Next Move
- Elon Musk Signs Open Letter Urging AI Labs to Pump the Brakes
- Eliezer Yudkowsky: Pausing AI Developments Isn't Enough. We Need to Shut it All Down
- 'How Is This Still Happening?' A Survivor Questions America's Gun Violence Problem
- Nicole Chung: The Person I Became After My Father's Death
- Cheryl Strayed Will Always Be Here for You
- Who Should Be on the 2023 TIME100? Vote Now
