T.K. Kirkland is the most recent guest on N.O.R.E and DJ EFN’s “Drink Champs” podcast show.
During his conversation about his career highlights, among other topics, the beloved comedian shared an anecdote about the time he stole from the Murphy family.
He said he once apologized to Eddie Murphy for stealing from his family while visiting the superstar’s home back in the day.
According to Kirkland, he was invited to Murphy’s home as a youngster in the 1980s and stole a Rolex watch belonging to Murphy’s brother Charlie Murphy.
“I hung out with Eddie Murphy and his brother Charlie Murphy and we had a huge fight on Wilshire Boulevard in L.A.” he recalled on April 15. “It all started — and the reason why I’m bringing this up is because I’m gonna talk to the world about evolving as a man.”
Kirkland went on to say that he lived two doors down the street from Richard Pryor while he was getting his master’s degree in speech communication at California State University, Northridge and hung out with Keenan Ivory Wayans.
Related: Eddie Murphy Reveals Surprising Moment He Knew He’d Made It in Hollywood
The 62-year-old said he met Wayans in 1982, and Wayans invited him to a private party at a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard. Inside the club, he met Prince and Murphy.
Kirkland said he later ended up visiting the set of Murphy’s film “Beverly Hills Cop” before he went shopping with the famous comedian and his brother. The group later ended up at Murphy’s house, and Kirkland stole Charlie’s Rolex.
“For some reason, Charlie Murphy is washing his perm,” he remembers. “I’m sittin’ on the sink, and somethin’ said, ‘rob these n—as.’ You know what I’m sayin’? So, the Rolex got taken, and it was really one of the most, um, embarrassing things I’ve ever did in my life as I grow as a man.”
The New Jersey native suggested he had a “kid’s” mentality when he stole the watch and said he felt bad because the Murphys were good to him. He credited the experience as helping him turn a negative situation into a positive three years later as he began his comedy career.
But he regrets not taking the opportunity to apologize to Charlie Murphy before he unexpectedly passed away in April 2017. However, Kirkland expressed his apologies to Charlie’s brother years ago in the V.I.P. section of another nightclub.
“I walked up to him, ‘I said how you doing, Eddie?’ I said, ‘Listen, about 20-something-years ago, you know, you invited me into your home and I just want you to understand as a man, I truly apologize for what I did to come in your home and be disrespectful,” he revealed.
“We all owned homes, and if you allow someone in your home, it’s like ‘n—a, I f—k with you,'” Kirkland continued. “As a youngster, I didn’t understand that. And when I understood life, I was mad at my motherf—g self, because I was like ‘damn, T.’
“Once I said that to him, the sky’s the motherf—n’ limit,” he concluded.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kirkland talked about his associations with Suge Knight, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Chris Tucker, and his 2019 comedy special.
“Who Raised You?” is available now on Amazon and Tubi.
