Jerrod Carmichael’s Race-Based Slave Play Joke Sees Backlash

Comic Jerrod Carmichael‘s testing of modern comedy audiences’ ability to grasp idiosyncratic race-based humor hit the skids quickly, as a gag made on his new HBO series tanked and many online criticized his message.

Carmichael, 37, dipped his toes into the concept of “slave play” as a sexual kink during a live stand-up moment on HBO’s Jerrod Carmichael’s Reality Show that dropped this week. In a moment on the show, the writer, director and comedy powerhouse spoke about his relationship with his white boyfriend.

“I sometimes joke to him that our relationship is like that of a slave and a master’s son  — who, like, teaches me how to read by candlelight,” the comedian says.

In the episode, the joke lands with a bit of a thud and in the moment, the audience throws some shade, groaning and hissing. Despite this, Carmichael does not stop.

“Yeah, he groans too ’cause he’s a good person,” he says. “He doesn’t like that fucking joke. I like that joke. That’s my burden, I think that shit’s hilarious!’

After Sunday’s premiere, the clip quickly went viral across the web and social platforms, with several users saying that they believe that Carmichael is self-hateful and others just criticizing the controversial idea of race-based sexual slave play. 

“The fact that he has a platform to spew this mess makes him a danger to the Black Queer community,” one audience member wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Jerrod Carmichael is a self hating narcissist,” another wrote.

Soon enough, Carmichael’s own Instagram account went dark. 

The Hollywood Reporter reached out to a representative for Carmichael but did not hear back immediately.