Ackroyd: Trading Places blackface scene "couldn't be done today"

Actor Dan Aykroyd has revealed that his Trading Places co-star Eddie Murphy didn’t object to the movie’s blackface scene in which Aykroyd’s character donned dark face paint and a rasta wig, while feigning a Jamaican accent.

Dan Aykroyd recalled shooting the scene in a recent interview with The Daily Beast for the movie’s 40th anniversary.

“Eddie and I were improvising there. Eddie is a Black [sic] man and his entourage were all Black people, and I don’t think they batted an eye,” the actor said.

“There was no objection then; nobody said anything. It was just a good comic beat that was truthful to the story.”

[“Good comic beat, truthful to the story.” COMIC being the operative word. Alas. ~ Beege]