Jerrod Carmichael's vulnerable chat with Tyler, the Creator about his crush goes viral
Jerrod Carmichael does not recommend falling in love with your best friend.
In the first episode of his new HBO series "Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show," the comedian opens up about developing feelings for his friend Tyler, the Creator, and the show captures a raw conversation between the two.
"I fell in love with my best friend," Carmichael, 36, says on stage. "One out of 10, don't recommend."
The "Poor Things" star recalls texting Tyler to let him know how he felt, to which the "New Magic Wand" rapper responded with a voice note saying, "Ha ha ha, you stupid (expletive)!" Carmichael describes being afraid of these feelings being "totally unrequited," and a year after that text exchange, he says things have been "weird" between them.
Still, the episode shows Carmichael inviting Tyler to the 2022 Emmy Awards, which he admits was a "stupid" idea during a stand-up set. "We can't even make eye contact for longer than two seconds, but you want to spend an evening together?" he jokes before checking his phone on stage to see that Tyler has not responded.
Carmichael is then shown speaking to potential "backup" dates for the Emmys, explaining that he's waiting to see if "someone that I genuinely love wants to go."
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Eventually, the Grammy winner turns down the Emmys invite by saying he is busy, although Carmichael doubts that. Carmichael ultimately invites Tyler to have a conversation about their situation on camera, and the rapper agrees.
The episode subsequently shows Carmichael confronting Tyler about why there is a distance between them, suggesting it's "because I told you I had feelings for you, and we didn't talk about it, ever." Tyler replies that he "brushed it off" and admits he tried to avoid what Carmichael had told him.
"That was a lot to download," Tyler says. "And now we're here, and I still don't know how to respond."
After Carmichael argues that Tyler is still "not answering" his questions, Tyler suggests he does not have feelings for Carmichael, who is "like a brother." In the middle of this conversation, someone awkwardly enters the room to bring in food. "Oh, that's right, you ordered food," Carmichael says, and the two eat in silence.
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Fans react to Jerrod Carmichael and Tyler, the Creator's awkward conversation
Clips of Carmichael and Tyler's awkward conversation quickly began making the rounds on social media, with fans especially singling out the moment when they were interrupted by a food delivery.
"Screaming at this clip of Jerrod Carmichael telling Tyler the Creator how he had feelings for him and Tyler ordering food in the middle of their discussion about him avoiding it," read one post on X, which received over 60,000 likes.
This spawned a wave of memes on social media suggesting Tyler was more concerned with his meal than Carmichael's feelings.
Carmichael's raw, revealing new show comes after he came out as gay in his 2022 HBO special "Rothaniel," for which he later won an Emmy. Shortly after the comedy special's debut, he hosted "Saturday Night Live" and joked, "I've been gay for, like, 48 hours."
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The episode concludes with Carmichael performing stand-up again after having won his Emmy award and then vomiting out of the side of a car. He does not directly discuss the fallout of his conversation with Tyler.
How to watch 'Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show'
"Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show" is now streaming on Max. New episodes debut Fridays.