Everyone has to start somewhere, and Eddie Murphy’s career in comedy is undoubtedly no different.

However, the comedian does not seem to agree with that all too much, as he has recently expressed disappointment over his earlier work in stand-up comedy, claiming that he found it hard to watch.

Murphy explained that he was young and still freshly heartbroken, making him an “a**hole” in his own words.

He then went on to acknowledge the controversial, charged nature of the jokes he used and did not seem too happy with the fact that this was all in his own history.

Murphy apparently made lots of jokes on racial and gender topics, as well as homosexual stereotypes.

AIDS was a popular topic back then, and it was also apparently a staple of Murphy’s repertoire of jokes.

And while the material seems to have gone over well back then, it definitely did not age well over time, and Murphy himself acknowledges that many of his jokes were ignorant.

The actor apologized to anyone he might have offended back in 1996 and went on to say that he saw his past very critically, or at least that period of it.

Most of his fans seem to believe that he is too harsh on himself, judging by responses he has received so far.

Still, it is at least good to see that the actor recognizes his mistakes and is willing to own up to them, rather than trying to sweep things under the rug as some others would probably try to do in his place.

He said this about his big come back that former President Barack Obama prompted: “People are saying, ‘You’re back! It’s a comeback! I’m like, no, I’m not trying to make a comeback. I’ve just been enjoying sitting on the couch so much. A few years ago, I was like, ‘I could sit on this couch and stay here watching ‘Little Women: LA’ and their exploits.’

Obama spoke to Murphy when he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and asked him two questions: “What kind of hair rinse I was using? And ‘When are you doing comedy again? I was like, ‘That’s your question?’ When you go into the Oval Office, and the president asks when are you doing stand-up, it’s time to do some jokes.”

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Murphy has a new movie, Dolemite Is My Name, he will be on Saturday Night Live on December 21, will have a stand-up comedy tour, will star in the sequel of Coming to America in 2020.