Jennifer Hudson’s conversation with Eddie Murphy had all the makings of a great interview— until a few unexpected moments left fans questioning her focus during the May 29 episode of her show.
What started as a casual conversation about family between the host and comedy icon quickly became an awkward interview that went viral after Hudson appeared to not to be listening at all.
During their sit-down, Murphy revealed that his son, Eric Murphy, had recently married Jasmin Lawrence, the daughter of Martin Lawrence. The two young adults had been dating for about four years, and their wedding officially united two of the most legendary families in comedy.
Hudson asked, “Are you going to sing at your son’s… Or is it your daughter’s wedding, right?”
Murphy patiently corrected her: “My son. Actually, they got married like two weeks ago… They decided they wanted to do something quiet with just the two of them, and then they got married. And now Martin don’t gotta spend all that ….”
Still seemingly unclear, Hudson cut in again: “You and Martin are in-laws.”
Murphy nodded and added with a chuckle, “Yeah, so he don’t have to pay for the big wedding now.”
But instead of acknowledging the news or exploring the significance of the moment, the EGOT again tried to circle back to her original line of questioning: “Uh ohh, did you sing for the wedding?”
Murphy, still composed, responded: “No, I didn’t. They didn’t have a wedding.”
Even then, Hudson didn’t seem to register what he said. She pressed again: “So you didn’t go?”
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He continued, “They just had the two of them and the preacher. They had a little quiet— look at it, a little quiet little thing.”
“Oh that’s beautiful,” Hudson said.
“So I think we’ll have a big party or something since they ran off and got married,” he
“Will you sing then?” she asked.
It seems that her confusion rubbed off on him. He asked, “Sing at the wedding? No, I ain’t singing.”
“I think they would appreciate that, don’t y’all think so?” Hudson asked her studio audience.
Though Murphy remained gracious throughout the conversation, clips from the moment quickly spread online, with fans criticizing Hudson for not paying attention and seemingly trying to shift the moment to focus on her own singing career.
BuzzFeed posted a clip of the original exchange on Facebook, where fans filled the comment section with their reactions.
One user wrote, “The man said they went off just the two of them got married. She’s gonna ask him, ‘Did you sing at the wedding?’ Baby, pay attention, omg.”
Another commenter didn’t hold back: “It was a few confusing minutes… she was all over the place…”
A third viewer added, “He is giving you breaking news, giving the tea and you’re asking him about singing? How are you not prepared to interview such a legend? Why are you asking a comedic genius who is coming out with a movie soon about singing?”
Some fans speculated that Hudson was trying to find an excuse to insert her own talent into the conversation rather than letting her guest’s moment shine.
“How many times can you ask the same question? She’s nervous,” one viewer asked.
Some fans speculated about Hudson’s motivations, with one suggesting, “She brings up sing so she can ‘HHhuuuuuAaahhhhhh’ into the mic another time or two,” and another quipping, “Trying to find any reason to sing.”
Jennifer is a TERRIBLE HOST! Lmaooo it’s actually incredible how bad she is. The man said they went off just the two of them went off and got married, she’s gonna then ask him “did you sing at the wedding”. Baby, pay attention omg https://t.co/sXkWPhRrsM
— bunny sanders (@whatbunnysaid) May 29, 2025
Coming to her defense, one person noted, “I’m guessing that she has producers telling her things in her earbuds, so it may be distracting. Even so, they should be paying attention. Also, don’t most of these shows do a pre-interview?”
Others suggested that Hudson may not have prepared adequately for the interview at all. “This man just told you his son married Martin Lawrence’s daughter, and you still don’t seem to understand what’s happening. How are you not ready to interview such a legend?” one user wrote.
Murphy, who’s known for keeping his personal life relatively private, was clearly offering up a rare and joyful piece of family news. But the moment didn’t get the appreciation it could have, largely due to Hudson’s confusing responses and interruptions.
Interestingly, “The Jennifer Hudson Show” later uploaded a trimmed version of the interview to YouTube, three days later.
In that edit, much of the awkward repetition was removed. Instead of highlighting Murphy’s clarification about the private wedding, the video was reframed around a discussion of a possible future celebration.
That original clip was not uploaded to her social media pages, where fans might have noticed the difference more quickly.
The interview had been positioned as a reunion between Hudson and Murphy, who starred together in “Dreamgirls” nearly two decades ago.
