Jerrod Carmichael Comes Out!

Jerrod Carmichael announces he is gay.

It is a major change in the life of a legendary comedian and actor.

Jerrod Carmichael will do his latest bit and formally come out as gay. The iconic comedian will make his SNL debut. His HBO special will address him coming out.

Rothaniel, which was taped in February at the Blue Note JazzClub in New York will tell stories about how Carmichael struggled with his sexuality and watching a family member cheat and dealing with this secret for years.

He tells a story about his father cheating on his mother for years. He said that he knew things seem different when he grew up.

"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."

After a long silence, the audience clapped, to Carmichael's relief.

"I'm accepting the love, I really appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it. I rebelled against it my whole life. 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."

Carmichael, 34 was the creator of the groundbreaking Black sitcom, The Carmichael Show. It lasted three seasons with Amber Stevens West, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Loretta Devine and David Alan Grier.

Carmichael walked away from the series after NBC blocked two episodes they deemed too controversial. The episode dealt with Jerrod surviving a mass shooting. The network decided that it wasn't the right time for that episode, so they pulled it. They also pulled a LGBTQ and Muslim themed episode as well. 

The show was expected to be renewed for a fourth season but Carmichael felt that the network continued to censor his content, so he decided to end it.

He has hinted that he was gay in his documentary series, Home Videos in which he had relationships with men and women. But now he's fully embracing him being gay.

Lil Nas X, Da Brat, Niecy Nash, Raven-Symone, Kal Penn, Jussie Smollett, DreamDoll, Tessa Thompson, Queen Latifah, Wanda Sykes and Charles Blow are notable LGBTQ celebrities who came out in their way.