Jerrod Carmichael, the Golden Globes host, was widely chastised for his remark about late music diva Whitney Houston during the award show’s live broadcast on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
After a commercial break, Carmichael stated that the producers had requested that he mention the location, the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and joked:
“We’re broadcasting live from the hotel where Whitney Houston was murdered.”
Whitney Houston drowned in the bathtub of the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48. Her death was then linked to heart problems and drug use, according to the coroner.
Jerrod Carmichael’s joke elicited gasps from the stunned audience, and netizens quickly condemned the comic for his crude and offensive humor. This was one of many jokes delivered by the first-time host that fell flat, including one about Tom Cruise and the alleged missing Scientologist Shelly Miscavige.
“Disrespectful and tasteless,” say netizens after a Golden Globes joke about Whitney Houston
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In recent years, the Golden Globe Awards and their organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), have been a source of contention, which Jerrod Carmichael could not ignore. The 35-year-old addressed the HFPA’s diversity issues in his opening monologue, saying that he was chosen to host because of his ethnicity, saying,
“I’m here because I’m Black, I’ll catch everyone in the room up.”
He continued, saying:
“I’m not saying they were a racist organization, but until George Floyd died, they didn’t have a single Black member, so take what you will from that.”
Carmichael’s hosting was widely panned, with his remark about Whitney Houston appearing to be the final straw for many. On social media, viewers slammed the Golden Globes and Carmichael.
On February 11, 2012, the 48-year-old singer was discovered dead in her Beverly Hilton apartment after reportedly bingeing on drugs and alcohol for the previous 48 hours. Many saw Jerrod Carmichael’s mention of the 11-year-old event at the Golden Globes as a slap in the face to the late singer’s memory.
Whitney Houston’s biopic did not receive a Golden Globe nomination
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, a biopic starring Naomi Ackie and directed by Kasi Lemmons, was released on December 23, 2022. Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, and Clarke Peters appeared in supporting roles.
The film received mixed reviews but was not nominated for a Golden Globe. The final scene of the biopic showed the singer high on drugs in a hotel bathtub. Due to an overwhelming number of visitors expressing a desire to stay in the room in question, it was made unavailable for years after the singer’s death.
As of 2017, the suit became functional once again, but with all prior furnishings removed, “out of respect to the family and lovers of Whitney,” according to Beverly Hilton.
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