After being slammed in the past for its lack of diverse cultural representation, the Golden Globes bounced back with a vengeance Tuesday night (January 10) – not only boasting a slew of performers of color nabbing major awards but also putting the cherry on top by appointing openly gay, African American comedian Jerrod Carmichael to serve as host.
And while many are celebrating the positive steps the Globes have taken toward diversity and inclusion, others are wagging their fingers at the comic for inappropriate and distasteful jokes – particularly one aimed at the late Pop icon Whitney Houston.
Details inside.
Unacceptable!! #GoldenGlobes poor taste of comedy maaan! #jerrodcarmichael #WhitneyHouston pic.twitter.com/zL95j5NlzT
— Amo (@amojmcd) January 11, 2023
At first, the 35-year-old-comedian was praised for the awkward laughs he garnered when he addressed the Globes’ diversity scandal – one of many controversial race-related jokes he cracked throughout the night.
“I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here because I’m Black,” Carmichael said. “This show, the Golden Globe Awards, did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which I won’t say were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died [in 2020]. So do with that information what you will.”
And though his commentary ranged on everything from Scientology to the uproar around Kanye West‘s anti-Semitic remarks in 2022, jaws dropped when Jerrod referenced the death of Whitney.
“Coming to you from the Beverly Hills Hotel, the hotel that killed Whitney Houston,” Carmichael relayed to the shocked audience (as seen in the video above).
Longtime fans of the Pop diva – outraged by Carmichael’s statement – know she died at the Beverly Hilton on February 11, 2012. Taking to Twitter in droves, look below to see how people responded to the ill-received joke.
“The Hotel that killed Whitney Houston” oooooooooh no baby we’re not doing that tonight #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2023 pic.twitter.com/uuHQSlilHe
— stephanie hsu oscar campaigner (@yeetbeete) January 11, 2023
Jerrod all night cause personally the Whitney “joke” was the last strike #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2023 pic.twitter.com/qdUkjLynXM
— Raven 💌🧸 (@RavenJackson14) January 11, 2023
At writing, Carmichael nor organizers of the 2023 Golden Globes have responded to the hoopla.
Well Whitney was killed he right about That
By her crackpipe. We been knew
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
He will NEVER have the fame nor talent Whitney possessed. He’s nothing but a token BM in Hollyweird. Enjoy ur 15 minutes hon.
No one will ever mention your name unless of course you’re involved in a scandal or doing gay P O R N.
Leave the Comedy to Dave…
Y’all n***** refuse to accept she was killed. He not tryna insult her. He keeps it real
Stfu making excuses it was in poor taste and he shouldn’t have said that it was not needed
We don’t need him to educate us. We need him to write better material, instead of using a dead woman’s name for clicks and views.
He thinks because he’s a gay lil f a g he can say whatever and nobody can criticize him cause he pulled the gay card disrespectful ass c o o n
Oh be quiet Dusty C👀n
What is the deal with these over emotional folks? Whitney’s been collecting dust for a decade already. Get a grip and take a joke, it’s not like he’s commenting on her crack pipe or cocaine tongue.
Word
Word to ya mama stupid.
Those fake white “jews” directed him to say that. No heat from me, that’s them.
He’s just saying what everyone else was thinking about her death. Come on people open your eyes! You really think that this wasn’t rehearsed and approved many times before being aired. Don’t be so simple minded.
The “crime” here is that it wasnt funny. BUT what it DID do is get you folks talking about last night. And THAT, my friends, is the point…
Sad we live in a world where A COMEDIAN can’t tell jokes no more. For as far back as I could remember jokes of poor taste, offensive or racial has been the norm. Now all the overly sensitive people doing too much and crying about everything. Like please grow up and let’s keep it 100% real most times these jokes are written by other people not the one standing there.
And comedians can still tell the jokes. The difference is nowadays the comedians get roasted also. If you can dish it…you can take it.
They don’t get roasted, they get canceled.
Not all. Dave hasn’t been cancelled for his statements.
Your impact determines whether someone is cancelled.
I’m not familiar with him well enough to understand if he’s mocking Whitney’s death or if he’s saying the hotel failed to do right by Whitney. I want to believe it’s the latter, because the details of her death still don’t add up. I believe very deeply that things were covered up… the people in and out of the room, items that were in the room, witness statements, and I won’t start on the position of her body and the marks all over her. I’m getting mad all over again.