April 11, 2024
Jerrod Carmichael Faces Backlash Over Slave Joke With White Boyfriend
Jerrod Carmichael is under fire for a race play joke he included in his new HBO series about his bedroom activity with his white boyfriend.
Comedian Jerrod Carmichael is under fire for a race play joke, included in his new HBO series Reality Show, about his bedroom activity with his white boyfriend.
The openly gay standup comic made the bold choice of admitting his kink for likening his interracial relationship to a romantic homosexual tale based in the pre-Civil War era.
“I sometimes joke to him that our relationship is like that of a slave and a master’s son — who, like, teaches me how to read by candlelight,” Carmichael told the audience.
When he noticed the crowd’s groans of disapproval, he said his boyfriend also hated the joke, but “I like that f***ing joke. That’s my burden.”
However, backlash ignited once a clip of the joke made its rounds on social media, with some expressing how “disgusting” they found the comedian.
“Ima need him to keep working thru that in therapy. There’s a lot to unpack, and my time is up,” one person wrote.
Another critic reposted the video along with another where Carmichael opened up about his sexual desires with men while labeling him as a “danger to the Black queer community.”
“I consider this an attack on the black community. And it won’t be taken lightly,” one person wrote in response.
“It’s bad enough that the top gay black male celebs won’t date anyone darker than a paper bag – but to admit and joke about being a slave in the bedroom for [your] white partner – in a documentary with a primarily white audience…. is gross,” explained someone else.
One person insinuated that Carmichael secured his HBO series due to his race play material. It was seemingly backed by a lead actress on Issa Rae’s HBO series Rap Sh!t, who joked about her show getting canceled earlier this year.
“See if I woulda just let a white man call me Harriet one time I could have kept my damn show,” Osman tweeted.
She also retweeted a post that accused HBO of canceling most of its Black-led shows while seemingly supporting the controversial commentary in Carmichael’s series.
Carmichael released his series on Sunday, April 7, and has yet to respond to the backlash he’s receiving.