Apr 1
Watch: Jerrod Carmichael and Tyler the Creator Wrestle with Carmichael's 'Crush' Confession
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out comedian Jerrod Carmichael continues to surprise and astonish with his HBO reality series. The latest: Carmichael and rapper Tyler, the Creator come to grips with Carmichael confessing his love.
Bromances are nothing new, of course, and just because a guy is gay doesn't mean he's going to develop romantic feelings for his best friend.
But it does happen – and it happened with Carmichael, who recounted on the premiere episode of the already-boundary-pushing "The Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show" how "Things started getting kind of weird between" himself and Tyler the, Creator when Carmichael realized that he "had these feelings" for Tyler.
The show's hallmark is to face the camera without flinching, and that's what the comedian does here, USA Today reported, noting that "the show captures a raw conversation between the two."
"I fell in love with my best friend," Carmichael revealed on the show, per Just Jared. "1 out of 10, don't recommend."
His feelings led to something of a crisis, Carmichael explained in a standup routine, saying, "I knew I had to tell him. Things started getting kind of weird between us. I had these feelings..."
"So I texted him," Carmichael went on to say, the Just Jared writeup detailed. "I remember saying, 'I know you didn't ask for this, but somewhere down the line I developed feelings for you and I don't know what to do with that.' Then I immediately turned my phone off and went into therapy."
"And my therapist was thrilled!" Carmichael added.
The comic recalled that Tyler replied to the text with a voice note in which he said, "Ha ha ha, you stupid bitch!"
"And I don't really know what that means," Carmichael told his audience.
"Still, the episode shows Carmichael inviting Tyler to the 2022 Emmy Awards, which he admits was a 'stupid' idea during a stand-up set," USA Today said.
"We can't even make eye contact for longer than two seconds, but you want to spend an evening together?" USA Today quoted the comedian saying in his comedy set, "before checking his phone on stage to see that Tyler has not responded."
Tyler did ultimately answer the invite by turning it down, but he also agreed to discuss the situation with Carmichael with the camera running.
The episode got emotionally intimate, with Carmichael telling Tyler, "I told you I had feelings for you, and we didn't talk about it, ever," and Tyler confessing that he hadn't wanted to deal with Carmichael's confession.
"That was a lot to download," Tyler told Carmichael. "And now we're here, and I still don't know how to respond."
The moment was interrupted by the delivery of food that Tyler had ordered, which led to an awkward silence as the two set about eating.
Still, Tyler let Carmichael know that while he doesn't share those romantic feelings, he sees Carmichael as "a true brother."
That's the equivalent of, "Let's just be friends."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
