LONDON: Actor Eddie Murphy is surprised by the backlash aimed at Seinfeld star Michael Richards following his racist tirade at a Laugh Factory show in a Los Angeles club because he feels what is said onstage should stay onstage. Murphy is refusing to join African-Americans launching attacks on Richards, who shocked audiences by calling two hecklers “n**gers” over and over again, reports contactmusic.com Murphy says: “Back in the old days in comedy clubs, you could do anything on stage. I’m not saying what the guy said was cool, but in the old days you would’ve never saw that on the news.”