Who is Jerrod Carmichael? Comedian comes out in new HBO special ahead of SNL debut

Neighbors (2014) star and stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael officially came out as gay in his latest HBO special, Rothaniel, which was officially released on April 1. A day later, on Saturday, Carmichael is also set to host an SNL episode for the first time.

Previously, in a 2019 HBO special, the comedian hinted at his s*xual orientation during a taped conversation with his mother. However, this time, Carmichael reserved a significant portion of his 55-minute stand-up special to talk about his s*xuality.

In the recent special, Carmichael said:

“I had a secret. One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends, and you — all of you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.”

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What is known about Jerrod Carmichael?

Although the mainstream audience may know the North Carolina native as Garf from the Neighbors duology, Jerrod Carmichael has been active as a stand-up comedian since 2008. At the age of 20, Carmichael debuted in the comedy scene after moving to Los Angeles.

Following his breakout role in the R-rated comedy Neighbors, Carmichael starred in his first comedy special for HBO Max, which was directed by the legendary director Spike Lee. The special, Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store, came out the same year as the film and boosted his mainstream popularity.

While growing up, Jerrod Carmichael and his family had to deal with financial constraints, which is often one of the focus of his stand-up bits. His second stand-up special, 8, was directed by famed comedian Bo Burnham, who also directed Carmichael’s most recent special, Rothaniel.

In 2015, the comedian also co-produced and starred in his own sitcom TV series, The Carmichael Show, which was picked up by NBC. The series ran for three seasons spanning 32 episodes and is rated at around 87% on RottenTomatoes. Later, he co-produced another sitcom, Rel, which was created by Lil Rel Howery and Kevin Barnett, and was picked up by Fox. However, the show was canceled after only one year on-air.

The actor and comedian has also been involved in projects where he extensively collaborated on the script and production. Carmichael has produced over 14 projects throughout his career while writing around 12 of them. Additionally, he has also appeared on-screen in 21 projects, including his stand-up specials, films, and music videos.

In 2019, Quentin Tarantino brought in Jerrod Carmichael to co-write a Django/Zorro movie based on the comic of the same concept, which came out in 2014. Around the same time, the writer and comedian was also involved in penning the story for the 48 Hours reboot of the original 1982 film.

With such an extensive background since 2014’s Neighbors, Jerrod Carmichael is expected to be involved in many comedy specials and film projects in the future.