Jerrod Carmichael Addressed The Golden Globes Racism Scandal Saying 'I'm Here Because I'm Black

The renowned comedian Jerrod Carmichael opened the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday night by confronting the reason it was absent from the airways the previous year, amid allegations about the Hollywood Foreign Press, its regulatory organization, lacking in diversity and inclusivity. "I'll tell you why I'm here. I'm here because I'm Black," Carmichael, 35, said, addressing the elephant in the room while sitting on the stairs of the Beverly Hilton stage. "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." [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Image credit: The Hollywood Reporter[/caption] He continued by joking about how he got the gig of hosting the show, "One minute you're making mint tea at home, the next you're invited to be the Black face of the embattled White organization. Life really comes extra fast, you know?" However, Carmichael acknowledged that he was hesitant to take Globes producer  Stephen Hill's offer when it was made. So, he made the decision to ask a close friend for advice who asked him, "How much are they paying you?" to which he replied, "$500,000." To that, his friend told him, "Boy, if you don't put on a good suit and take the White people's money." Also read: Billy Porter turned heads in a custom-made Christian Siriano tuxedo gown at the Golden Globe Awards

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Everything was fine up until Jerrod Carmichael was requested to meet with HFPA president Helen Hoehne, which he humorously referred to as "a trap." "'They're not really asking, Jerrod. They're insisting that you take the meeting,'" he recalled at the event. "And I'm like, 'Or what? They're gonna fire me? They hadn't had a Black host in 79 years. They're gonna fire the first one? I'm unfireable.'" [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1581"] Image credit: Rolling Stone[/caption] Additionally, he made fun of the fact that the organization "got six new Black members," stating "Congrats to them!" but said that when he accepted the gig, he had not even anticipated that the HFPA would have changed anything. On another note, for those unaware, in February 2021, a Los Angeles Times exposé claimed that there were no Black members in the HFPA, which led to criticism of the Golden Globes. Due to the news and criticism, NBC declared in May that it will not air the 2022 awards event. Instead, a more condensed ceremony for the Golden Globes was conducted at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. However, no audience or nominees were present due to the spike of extremely contagious Omicron COVID-19 cases at the time.