Jamie Foxx Reveals the Funny Reason Eddie Murphy Asked an Extra to Be Kicked Off ‘Dreamgirls’

Jamie Foxx once shared a funny behind-the-scenes story from the set of Dreamgirls that involves Eddie Murphy and a moment that quickly went wrong.

The story was brought up during Foxx’s press tour for his recent film Back in Action with Cameron Diaz. According to Foxx, the incident happened while they were filming Dreamgirls in 2006, a movie where Eddie Murphy played James “Thunder” Early in a highly praised and Oscar-nominated performance.

Foxx explained that Murphy was very focused on set during filming. He stayed in character and kept a serious mood, especially during intense scenes. Everything was quiet and controlled as they worked through a difficult moment on set.

That is when a background actor reportedly made a comment that changed the whole atmosphere. As Murphy was walking away from the set after a tense moment, the extra shouted a joke that referenced one of Murphy’s most famous roles.

The extra called out, “Ain’t that the donkey from Shrek?!”

The comment referred to Murphy’s voice role as Donkey in the Shrek films. While many people see it as a funny reference, the timing was very bad, since Murphy was trying to stay focused on a serious dramatic performance.

Foxx said the mood on set changed immediately after the remark. What was already a serious environment became even more tense. According to him, the situation was taken seriously by production.

The extra was removed from the set shortly after the incident. Foxx explained that the comment crossed a line at a time when Murphy was working on one of the most important roles of his career.

Foxx also mentioned the story while speaking to Cameron Diaz, who co-starred in the Shrek franchise as Princess Fiona. The connection made the moment even more awkward in hindsight, since the joke directly referenced both of their famous animated roles.

This is one of those situations that shows how careful people need to be on set. Even a joke that seems harmless can land badly if the timing is wrong. What do you think about what happened? Share your thoughts in the comments.