Dave Chappelle has made a cottage industry for himself releasing sporadic Netflix stand-up comedy specials that will knowingly spark backlashes and debates — such was the case with his internet-dividing special The Dreamer that capped off 2023. Meanwhile, fellow comedian Jerrod Carmichael has largely aligned himself with HBO and Max, which released his emotional Emmy-winning set Rothaniel, and where he now hosts his unscripted effort Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show. And while the bad blood between them hasn’t made waves like other celebrity feuds, the LGBTQ+ comedian says Chappelle is apparently still feeling bitter about past comments, and Carmichael sounds sick of it all.
In a lengthy and candid interview with Esquire, Carmichael speaks to many of the rewards and challenges that come with living such a public life, and admits there’s still some difficulty in plainly stating that he’s gay. The Emmy winner famously came out during the aforementioned Rothaniel, and says a reactionary comment from Dave Chappelle at the time of its release remains a sticking point in his brain. And it’s the comment that more or less incited this somewhat low-key discord.
What Dave Chappelle Said About Jerrod Carmichael’s Rothaniel
Having previously revealed having relationships with both men and women in his docu-series Home Videos (available to stream with a Max subscription), Carmichael went the full nine yards and addressed his gayness head-on for Rothaniel, a thread he continues to pull and shape in his most recent series. And for all the fanfare, critical acclaim and accolades he received, the special earned merely a backhanded compliment from Dave Chappelle.
Carmichael reflected on that comment to Esquire, saying:
He referred to it as the bravest special for 1996. And it’s like, that’s a funny enough line, whatever, but I wonder if he gets the irony that the fact that you are mocking it even then is why it was hard.
The Poor Things co-star prefaced those thoughts by pointing out how gay jokes with a negative bent still loom so large in the comedy community, to the point where part of him remains scared to be so open, with so many people still treating sexuality as a joke. In his mind, as long as “people continue to laugh at it and mock it,” the situation will remain a troublesome one for him and others.
How Jerrod Carmichael Reacted To Dave Chappelle’s Comment At The Time
In June 2022, two months after Rothaniel hit HBO, Jerrod Carmichael took part in a GQ profile in which he shared his take on comedians creating boogeymen to sell tickets in a world where cancel culture thrives. In it, he called out Dave Chappelle for seemingly having no issue with his comedy legacy being so intertwined with controversial opinions on the trans community in particular. In his words:
Chappelle, do you know what comes up when you Google your name, bro? That’s the legacy? Your legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans shit? It’s an odd hill to die on. And it’s like, hey, bro. Who the fuck are you? Who do you fuck? What do you like to do? Childish jokes aside, who the fuck are you? It’s just kind of played. But he’s choosing to die on the hill. So, alright, let him.
While Dave Chappelle isn’t necessarily one to take tons of interviews where he calls out other celebrities who have done him perceived wrongs, he apparently didn’t take too kindly to Carmichael’s comments. And not exactly in a self-reflective way, as the 36-year-old comic went on to explain.
Jerrod Carmichael Clarified His Previous Chappelle Comments
Nearly two years after that GQ profile, Jerrod Carmichael is hopefully in a better place where such thoughts are concerned, and in looking back at his past comments, he offered up a more thoughtful paraphrasing about why he’s disappointed in Chappelle’s current career cycle, before revealing that the Half Baked vet is allegedly looking for Carmichael to make amends. In his words:
I said he’s not revealing anything personal about himself and he’s removed from what he’s talking about, and I think he’s smarter than that and deeper than that and has more interesting thoughts. But he took it as ‘fuck Dave Chappelle,’ because he’s an egomaniac. He wanted me to apologize to him publicly or some shit.
Just in case anyone may have expected Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show to feature a segment where the titular star sets up a soapbox in Times Square and hollers out apologies to Dave Chappelle, maybe go ahead and put those expectations away. It remains to be seen if Chappelle will have any thoughts to share about these latest comments, but he’s rarely been one to hold back on anything.
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show airs new episodes on HBO on Friday nights at 11:00 p.m. ET. Head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see what else is on the way.
