Comedian Jerrod Carmichael Comes Out Before Hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael will be premiering his new stand-up special Rothaniel on HBO Friday night. During the comedy set, which was recorded at the Blue Jazz Club in New York City in February, Carmichael came out as gay both to the audience and the world and discussed why he kept it a secret for much of his early career.

Carmichael has been performing stand-up since 2011, eventually becoming a fixture in the L.A. scene where he got his start. Carmichael’s first special, Love At The Store, was released in 2014 and was directed by the legendary Spike Lee. He then created The Carmichael Show in 2015, which ran on NBC for three seasons before Carmichael left the show to pursue other projects.

The comedian, who focused a lot on the theme of secrets throughout the special, began by remembering when he once caught his father cheating on his mother as a child. “After that was out in the open, I was left feeling like a liar, because I had a secret,” Carmichael continued. “One that I had kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.”

The comedian has spoken about possibly being queer in the past. In his 2019 documentary Home Video, there is a memorable scene where Carmichael tells his mother, “I’ve hooked up with dudes before,” and asks her if she has ever been attracted to women. In Rothaniel, Carmichael revealed that he and his mother have had difficulties in their relationship since he came out to her. “As much as she believes in God, I believe in personal growth and feeling free,” Carmichael said.

He also made a joke in Love At The Store which was structured as advice for gay people coming out of the closet. “Save it until you need it. I would come out of the closet when a friend asked me to move,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael had some interesting observations about coming out, and while being applauded for announcing he is gay, jokes, “I really appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it.” He returns to this idea later, saying more seriously, “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 actually say it to people. Because I know it changes some people’s perceptions of me. I can’t control that.”

Carmichael will be hosting Saturday Night Live on April 2. Ahead of the performance, the comic apparently stopped by Union Hall for a stand-up set.  Carmichael cracked that he must be the least famous person to host the show, and all you have to do to get Saturday Night Live is come out of the closet.

You can view the trailer for Rothaniel, which was directed by Bo Burnham, below.