And, you know, as a child, I already felt different enough.
It's mostly all I remember since I was a kid. Like, we immediately started using Jerrod. He made me after my two grandfathers, his father and my mother's father, Robert and Nathaniel - combined the two names at birth and never really used it. J CARMICHAEL: The name comes from my father. Your first name, as you reveal in the special, is the title of the special, which is "Rothaniel." Tell us about the origin of the name. GROSS: Before we get to coming out, let's start with your name, which you tried to keep secret. But the show just captures a moment just - where I just wanted to feel free. Family secret - the things I talk about in the show started coming out. It all started coming out, you know? I came out. It just kind of - all over the past couple of years, it all started happening. I think it's the best way to describe it.Īnd it just - I started being more honest with my friends. You're just like - I felt like I was, like, walking around with a mask with my face on it. They call it being in the closet, I guess, for a reason, because it does feel like you just have walls up. I think I grew tired of being someone I wasn't. J CARMICHAEL: (Laughter) I think I got tired. What changed in your life that you were willing and able to tell secrets now on stage? And you really were great on "Saturday Night Live," so congratulations on that, too. It's such a pleasure to have you on the show. Jerrod Carmichael, welcome back to FRESH AIR. His new special "Rothaniel," also directed by Bo Burnham, was taped this year at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. In Carmichael's HBO special "Home Videos," he returned home to Winston-Salem, N.C., and filmed conversations with his real family members about sensitive family topics.
Many episodes were about them disagreeing with each other on complicated and uncomfortable issues, like, is it still OK to enjoy Bill Cosby's comedy? Is it OK to have a gun in the house? How do you eulogize a father who mistreated you? Is it OK to take the morning after pill if the condom breaks? That show portrayed a fictional version of Carmichael's family. Carmichael has done two other HBO comedy specials, "Love At The Store," directed by Spike Lee, and "8," directed by Bo Burnham.Ĭarmichael is also the creator and star of the sitcom "The Carmichael Show" that ran on NBC for three seasons. Toward the end, when he's interacting with the audience, his show starts to look like a hybrid of a comedy show and a therapy session. GROSS: He delivers on that promise to reveal personal secrets - about his real name, his family tree and his sexual orientation. J CARMICHAEL: Welcome to the show, everybody. One of my biggest - one of my last held secrets is my name. J CARMICHAEL: I carried a lot of secrets my whole life. JERROD CARMICHAEL: I want to talk about secrets - secrets. (SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "ROTHANIEL") He has a new HBO comedy special called "Rothaniel." What does that mean, right? Well, we soon find out. Maybe you saw him hosting "Saturday Night Live" a couple of weeks ago. My guest is comic, actor and writer Jerrod Carmichael.