The comedian earned critical acclaim with his comedy special ‘Rothaniel’ earlier this year
Congratulations are in order for Jerrod Carmichael! The comedian, writer and actor took home first ever Emmy on Monday night for his acclaimed HBO comedy special, “Rothaniel.”
As theGrio previously reported, one of the biggest moments in comedy this year came from Carmichael’s special. Filmed at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, the special was immediately hailed as “vital” and “stunning,” for its intimacy and candor. The special was also notable as it served as his public coming out, and saw the comedian wrestling with his own journey, as well as his family’s reactions to his personal life.
Taking to the stage in a fur coat inspired by Diddy, Carmichael said when accepting the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, “I wanted to win, I’m happy I won. Thank you very much.” He continued, “I made something that was of great personal consequence to me and this definitely contributes to the meaning of it. I’m not a sore winner, but I’m going to go home because I can’t top this right now.”
In the now Emmy-award winning special, Carmichael dove deep into the weight of his decision to come out, telling the audience, “I never thought I’d come out. I didn’t think I’d ever, ever, ever come out. Probably 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 people’s — some people — it changes their perception of me. I can’t control that.”
Carmichael also earned praise for his stint hosting “Saturday Night Live” earlier this year, which happened just a week after his special launched on HBO. “Honestly, if you’re gay in New York, you get to host Saturday Night Live,” he quipped during the opening monologue. “This is the gayest thing you could possibly do. Like, I came out right onto the stage. We’re basically in an Andy Warhol fever dream right now.”
It seems like Carmichael’s award-winning partnership with HBO isn’t ending anytime soon, as the comedian signed an overall deal with the network earlier this year, per Deadline.
See the full list of the “74th Emmy Awards winners here.
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