Jerrod Carmichael has come out as gay before his Saturday Night Live hosting debut in a new HBO special that premiered on Friday evening.
The HBO special was filmed back in February this year at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.
In it, the 34-year-old comedian delves into his family history, as well as his coming out process.
He also opens up about how learning that his father cheated on his mother opened the door for him to reveal his own sexual identity.
Speaking on the show, he said: ‘After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret.’
He added: ‘One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.’
At that point, there’s a long silence before the audience begins to clap, and the comedian appeared relieved.
‘I’m accepting the love, I really appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it,’ he says.
Later, he adds: ‘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.’
He previously alluded to having a same-sex relationships in his 2019 special for HBO titled Home Video, where he said: ‘I’ve hooked up with dudes before.’
The comedian – born in North Carolina – came to prominence in the Los Angeles stand-up comedy world and has won plaudits for his successful sitcom The Carmichael Show that ran on NBC from 2015 – 2017.
The show followed a fictional version of the comedian’s family, set in Charlotte, Carolina.
The family members included his father, Joe, his mother, Cynthia, and brother Bobby.
It starred Jerrod as himself, Lil Rel Howery as Bobby, Amber Stevens as Maxine, and Tiffany Haddish as Nekeisha.
Rothaniel premieres Friday, April 1 at 9pm EST on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
