Jerrod Carmichael Epically Shaded The Golden Globes In His Opening Monologue

When it came time to prepare for his Golden Globes monologue, Jerrod Carmichael had some trouble working with NBC. As the Emmy winner recently told Jimmy Fallon, the process involved navigating awkward marketing concepts and seeing jokes rejected. One quip that didn’t make the cut? A line in which Carmichael compared his sex face to Viola Davis’ performance in an emotional scene — “the lip quivering, and the whole thing.” As Carmichael recalled, “[NBC] said, ‘No, we don’t think that represents the brand of the Golden Globes.’ Whatever.” (Fallon, for his part, found it pretty hilarious.)

The stakes, for all involved, were pretty high going into the big night on Jan. 10. It was the Globes’ first televised ceremony in two years, and came after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) — the organization that puts on the Globes — saw its reputation shattered by a series of controversies, including a widespread condemnation of the lack of diversity in its voting body.

So, yes, not all of Carmichael’s ideas made it to air — but, to many viewers’ delight, he didn’t hold back from calling out the HFPA in his monologue. “I won’t say they were a racist organization,” he said. “But they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died. So do with that information what you will.”

Carmichael also discussed his ambivalence about taking the job at all. “One day you’re making mint tea at home,” he said. “The next, you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organization. Life really comes at you fast, you know?”

Ultimately, Carmichael decided to go through with the hosting gig. The HFPA wanted to “educate” Carmichael about some of the changes they’d made surrounding diversity, he said — but he wasn’t that interested. “I’ll be totally honest with everyone here tonight, I don’t really need to hear that,” he said. “I took this job assuming they hadn’t changed at all.”

His choice to be the Golden Globes host came down to the people in the audience, Carmichael said. “I see a lot of talented people — people that I admire, people that I would like to be like, people that I’m jealous of, people that are actually really incredible artists,” he said. “And regardless of whatever the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s past may be, this is an evening where we get to celebrate, and I think this industry deserves evenings like these.”

Viewers took to Twitter to praise the critical show opener.