Gay Comedian Jerrod Carmichael to Host 2023 Golden Globes

Last week, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced that openly gay comedian Jerrod Carmichael will host the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will air on NBC and Peacock on Tuesday, January 10.

“We’re so excited to have Jerrod Carmichael host the historic 80th Golden Globe Awards,” Helen Hoehne, President of the HFPA, says in the statement. “His comedic talents have entertained and thrilled audiences while providing thought-provoking moments that are so important in the times we live. Jerrod is the special kind of talent this show calls for to kick off the awards season.”

This year’s telecast is especially important for the HFPA, since the Golden Globes were not televised in 2022 after facing intense criticism of the organization’s questionable ethics and severe lack of diversity both internally and within its nominations. NBC dropped the awards show from its broadcast schedule.

According to Variety, 103 new voters were added to diversify its pool since the controversy happened.

In April, Deadline also reported that former HFPA president Philip Berk, who has been accused of sexual assault by The Whale actor Brendan Fraser, called Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement” in an email to membership. According to several Hollywood insiders who spoke with the Hollywood Reporter, whether or not this broadcast is successful could determine the future of the awards show’s partnership with NBC.

For Carmichael, this is a homecoming of sorts. The comedian starred in three seasons of the critically acclaimed sitcom The Carmichael Show on NBC from 2015 to 2017, and more recently, guest hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in April, which he received an Emmy nomination for.

However, his big win at the Emmys this past September was for his landmark HBO Max comedy special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel, for which he earned the award for writing in a comedy special.

Directed by comedian Bo Burnham, Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel was lauded for its brutally honest, yet extremely funny, personal account. In the film, Carmichael revealed that he is gay and shared the sometimes painful, sometimes humorous, reaction he received from family and friends about his personal truth.

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