Comedian Jerrod Carmichael made a vast and inspiring announcement ahead of his debut hosting Saturday Night Live this week: he is officially out as gay. This news surprises many fans, as the award-winning performer has not publicly discussed his sexuality before now. However, this moment marks an important milestone for Carmichael and the LGBTQ+ community.
About Jerrod Carmichael
Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael (born April 6, 1987) is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker from the United States. Three stand-up comedy specials of his have been released on HBO: Love at the Store (2014), 8 (2017), and Rothaniel (2022).
He also co-created, co-wrote, produced, and acted in the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show, which was somewhat autobiographical (2015–2017). On the Count of Three was directed, produced, and starred in by Carmichael (2021). In 2022, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for writing Rothaniel and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for guest hosting Saturday Night Live.
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“Comedian Jerrod Carmichael Surprises World Ahead of SNL Hosting Debut”
In the April 1st debut of his new HBO comedy, special “Rothaniel,” comedian Jerrod Carmichael comes out as gay. The program was filmed in February 2022 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, directly across from the Comedy Cellar. In “Rothaniel,” Carmichael recounts his family background and coming-out process.
Carmichael recalls seeing his father cheating and relates to having a “secret,” as reported by Variety.
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“After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar because I had a secret that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you,” Carmichael said. “Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.”
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Carmichael continues, as the audience applauds, “I’m accepting the love; I appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it.”
Later in the special, Carmichael says, “I rebelled against it my whole life. I thought I’d never, ever come out. At many points, I thought I’d rather die than confront the truth of that to say it to people. Because I know it changes some people’s perceptions of me. I can’t control that.”
Not for the first time, Carmichael addresses homosexuality in “Rothaniel” Carmichael discussed his sexual encounters with guys in the 2019 HBO unique “Home Video.” Carmichael made his debut as a feature-length director with the 2021 Sundance film “On the Count of Three,” in which he also stars. United Artists Releasing has yet to establish a U.S. release date for the buddy comedy thriller.
The premiere of “Rothaniel” will air on April 1 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available for streaming on HBO Max.
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Comedian’s ‘Unique’ Bond Between Coming Out and His Mom
During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, one alumnus of The Carmichael Show stated that coming out as gay strained his relationship with his mother.
“Me and my mom have a God-sized wall between us. You know, that’s the impossible thing to navigate,” he said, citing his mother’s deep ties to Christianity. But Christianity became a source of “self-hatred” for Carmichael, causing him to remain in the closet longer. “That’s what was really destructive, and it’s been very, very difficult,” he said.
“I’m trying to trust fall into a new interpretation of religion because I do think it has value,” he continued. “Like, I haven’t completely let go of it and I’m trying to reinterpret it for me and I’ve been trying to get my mother to have some type of openness to her interpretation of it and it’s hard. It’s a tricky thing because people — my mother, not just people. My mother holds onto religion because it got her through really rough times.”