Two weeks before the final episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show, comedian Jerrod Carmichael appeared on the program to talk about his latest special Rothaniel, in which he came out as gay, and the response he’s received since. At-home viewers also saw Carmichael thank Ellen for coming out when she did, explaining how her courage directly impacted him.
Ellen’s studio audience also witnessed one joke that never made it to air. In a recent interview on Showtime’s Desus & Mero, Carmichael revealed the joke — well, the punchline at least — that was apparently too much for the daytime NBC crowd. He also said he thinks producers made the right call.
“I did a joke on Ellen, they took that sh*t out,” he revealed. “It requires context, and it’s Freudian in nature, but the punchline — without context so forgive me — was me realizing how much sexual desire is rooted in, like, everything from trauma to childhood experiences. And I said I realized that if something on a guy doesn’t remind me of my mother I can’t cum.”
The line, minus the aforementioned context, of course, elicited a bewildered stare from Desus. Mero, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
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Carmichael continued: “And that wasn’t fit for 2 p.m. daytime television, in between, like, some alavetra (?) pill and a tampon commercial.
“And I’m doing this joke, and by the way — silence — rightfully so. The audience turned on me, Ellen was like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ The boom mic guy, I swear to god, I saw the boom mic kind of slowly move away. Rightfully so.”
Still, the experience was overwhelmingly positive and Carmichael has no plans to censor his future material.
“I loved doing the show, I should say that. They should have taken it out. But it’s just, like, I’ve been trying to be as free as I can be. Even backstage I have to take a moment before I walk out, ’cause it’s like, telling the truth on camera is an odd thing.
“I don’t want to waste time, everything just feels like a waste if you’re lying. Lies beget lies and you become mired in it.”
Watch (the bit about the joke starts at the 10:23 mark):
Here’s Carmichael’s Ellen interview that aired:
Kangol2
I get his joke though it’s still pretty bizarre. I’m sure the audience was like WTF in real time. Now, in terms of Desus and Mero, I’ll say they are very gay friendly, and for two straight guys, they talk a lot about @ss play and gay sex, especially Mero!
justwannaleaveonecomment
He must be very young or very new to standup to read a room that poorly. Being interviewed by a lesbian in front of an audience of what I assume to be mostly straight women, you cannot say the word cum; probably can’t even insinuate it with a nicer word like ‘finish.’ I know nothing about him other than that he came out during his comedy special but I’m gonna guess he either grew up in or has been living in a very nice gay bubble to feel that overly-comfortable in the wrong setting for that kind of talk. I’m not judging him for what he said, I talk like that too and probably would’ve laughed with the right delivery, but I am judging his people-reading skills.
Joshooeerr
Not funny. Creepy.
Diplomat
Oversharing.