Comedian Jerrod Carmichael comes out as gay; says 'I rebelled against it my whole life'

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael has officially come out as gay in his new HBO special Rothaniel. The artist, who's also set to host Saturday Night Live, made the revelation while talking about his family history, including an instance when he found out his father was cheating on his mother. 

"After that was out in the open, I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret. One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends and you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay,” he stated, according to Variety. The former Carmichael Show star received a huge round of applause from the audience after the revelation. 

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael comes out as gay in new HBO special

Responding to the audiences' applause, Jerrod mentioned, "I’m accepting the love. I really appreciate the love,” and added, "My ego wants to rebel against it.” He further mentioned how he 'rebelled' against his sexuality the entire life, thinking of rather dying than coming to terms with the truth. 

He mentioned, “I thought I’d never, ever come out. 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 some people’s perceptions of me. I can’t control that.”

He further detailed his friends' and family's reaction to it, and how his mother's religious beliefs came in the way of acceptance. He recalled his mom telling him, “I can’t go against Jesus” and added that she has since tried to accept it. 

In the teaser, Jerrod also spoke about his quest to have conversations about secrets and be completely honest.  “I’ve been trying to be very honest because my whole life was shrouded in secrets and figured the only route I haven’t tried was the truth.” Take a look. 

(IMAGE: AP)