Jerrod Carmichael Reveals “He’s Gay” During New Comedy Special

Jerrod Carmichael’s latest stand-up special might be his most revelatory yet.

The acclaimed comedian comes out as gay in his new HBO special, Rothaniel, a few years after he first referenced relationships with men in a previous film for HBO.

In the intimate special, filmed by fellow comic Bo Burnham at a New York jazz club, Carmichael said he’d been “feeling like a liar” after his father’s infidelity came to light within his family. He called his identity a “secret” that he kept from his immediate family, friends, colleagues and fans because he didn’t want it to change others’ perception of him.

“I thought I’d never, ever come out,” he said in the special, which airs Friday night. “At many points in my life I thought I’d rather die than confront the truth of that, like, to actually say it to people.”

Since coming out to his mother, Jerrod said their relationship has suffered. (The New York Times’ comedy critic Jason Zinoman reported Friday that, at a recent show, the comic said he hadn’t spoken to his mother in months.) But coming out to those closest to him — and now, his fans — has made him “feel freer,” too, Carmichael said in the new special.

This marks the third HBO standup comedy special for Jerrod, who made his HBO debut in 2014 with the stand-up special Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store, which was followed by Jerrod Carmichael: 8 in 2017. 

Carmichael’s two-part video diary “Home Videos” and “Sermon On The Mount” also premiered on HBO in 2019.

Jerrod is best known for the semi-autobiographical NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show, which ran for two years on the network.