Jerrod Carmichael had been a famous comedian for almost a decade, with an eponymous NBC sitcom and a couple of stand-up specials under his belt, when he dropped his average-dude persona and started telling the truth about himself. In his Emmy-winning 2022 special, Rothaniel, Carmichael came out as gay, speaking openly, with plenty of rueful humor, about internalized homophobia and his fractured relationship with his devoutly Christian mother.