Jerrod Carmichael

Jerrod Carmichael revealed during his new HBO comedy special "Rothaniel" that he is gay. The special airs April 1.

“And I do feel freer.” The comedian is making his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut April 2. “As much as she believes in God, I believe in personal growth and feeling free,” Carmichael says. “After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret, one that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you,” Carmichael said. And the secret is that I’m gay.” At many points I thought I’d rather die than confront the truth of that, to actually say it to people.

At a new show, he said: “I had a secret, one that I kept from my mother and my father and my family, my friends. And you. All of you.

And he is explaining, with more generosity than is usually ever given to the other side, why that isn’t possible in his life—and why that might have to be acceptable. He wants to be himself and be loved for it. He knows that we’re not equipped to laugh at this. The reasons why he convinced himself he wasn’t gay. It is Carmichael trying to figure it all out, in front of an audience that might understand. But he raises the discourse. It is his refusal to let coming out be the end of the journey. It's how he talks about the emotion. But it's not just the bluntness about the sex. After a long pause during his set, he looks up at the audience: “The secret is I’m gay.” He explored the generational element of that. Carmichael, who Norman Lear has called his successor, who has been a bright light in films like Neighbors 2, and produced meaningful shit, like Ramy, is coming out of the closet.

Carmichael, 34, makes the onstage reveal in “Rothaniel,” which premieres Friday night, after sharing that he once caught his father cheating. More On: lgbtqia+ ...

“And I do feel freer.” I really appreciate the love,” he responds to the applause. “After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret.

In “Rothaniel” on HBO, the stand-up grapples with secrets that defined his upbringing, the toll silence has taken and the price he's paying to break it.

Jerrod Carmichael, cast member Heidi Gardner, and musical guest Gunna preview this week's episode of SNL in a teaser that's barely comedy, and certainly not ...

Especially when something borderline-glitching-the-matrix occurs, something like The Slap, which Chris Rock himself said, as of two days ago, he’s “still processing.” (Although it’s nice to see you, Heidi—where ya been?) All we want to know is—who’s going to be Will? Who’s Chris? Will they dare to take on Jada? Jerrod Carmichael, cast member Heidi Gardner, and musical guest Gunna preview this week’s episode of SNL in a teaser that’s barely comedy, and certainly not standard English, but frankly…

A review of Jerrod Carmichael's HBO stand-up comedy special 'Rothaniel.' The special is a deliberate breakdown of performance, a set that reverses the ...

Yes, it plays with the form, and yes, it is a piece of stand-up that then dismantles its own performance of stand-up. In this and the question of whether the audience interjections are real, Rothaniel is an elegant continuation of Carmichael’s previous work. At times, particularly early in the special, Carmichael is shot in almost beatific lighting and framing, with the camera pointed up at his face and reflecting a beautiful range of tones including the warmth of his skin as well as blues and purples from the surrounding lights. Until this moment, his material is delivered as material — he is a master at the naturalistic performance of crafted storytelling, but even given his persuasive ability to play it as casual and off the cuff, it’s clear that in the opening portions of Rothaniel he is delivering stand-up. So if Rothaniel is not made for the people in that room, it can still be intended for an audience watching it at home. He also grew up with a sense that this is what masculinity looked like and that he was born into that line of men, so much so that his actual first name is a combination of his grandfathers’ first names. He is under a microscope, highlighted as the performer at precisely the moment he allows the performance to fall apart. It’s stand-up even though he is sitting down for the hour, a choice that levels the playing field between Carmichael and his audience. Regardless, what is happening in the room at that moment is a deliberate breakdown of performance, a set that begins with a comedian offering something to the audience and then shifts, reversing the burden of giving and receiving. Rothaniel builds this revelation into the special as a turning point for both Carmichael’s performance and for the way this plays for the audience. He needs them, and not just in the usual way that a comedian needs an audience. Carmichael’s grandfathers and his father all slept around and had children outside of their marriages, and Carmichael paints a picture of all the ways this shaped him as a person.

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael publicly shared that he is gay in his new HBO special 'Rothaniel,' premiering Friday night.

In 2019, Carmichael premiered the two-part video diary Home Videos and Sermon on the Mount on HBO. “One that I kept from my mother and my father, my family, my friends, and you, all of you. “Once that was done, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret,” he says. I didn’t think I’d ever, ever come out,” he explains. I’m accepting the love, I really appreciate the love. Reflecting on the event made Carmichael share the internal conflicts he was left to confront.

In his new HBO special 'Rothaniel,' comic Jerrod Carmichael comes out as gay. He breaks the news after a story about his dad getting caught cheating.

“Sometimes I’ll be in the shower, like ... oh, I’m really gay. “I’m from the hood,” he says. “After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar because I had a secret,” the 34-year-old says in “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel.” “One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends — and you, all of you. Referring to the audience’s acceptance, he jokes: “My ego kind of wants to rebel against it.” “At many points in my life I thought I’d rather die than confront the truth of that. The comedian, who will host “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, shares the news about his sexuality in a serious moment that comes after a 23-minute buildup about all the secrets his family has kept over the years.

It turns out that delving into family secrets while revealing his own was not a one-time thing for Carmichael who, in his newest HBO comedy special Rothaniel, ...

“After that was out in the open,” he says, “I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret. One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you. It turns out that delving into family secrets while revealing his own was not a one-time thing for Carmichael who, in his newest HBO comedy special Rothaniel, explains the connection.

Popular comedian Jerrod Carmichael came out of the closet during his new stand-up special.