Jerrod Carmichael is unapologetic about his decision to tackle the controversial legacy of Bill Cosby on The Carmichael Show. During the “Fallen Heroes” episode, which first aired in March on NBC, Carmichael’s fictional family debates the ethicality of attending a Bill Cosby stand-up show in the midst of Cosby’s sexual assault allegations.
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“The Bill Cosby episode was the same as when we did the protest episode, when we did the kale episode, we did all these things that were based on conversations on real-life things that were happening,” Carmichael said during a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter.
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“This is one of the first times in American history where black people are able to be genuinely just human beings. We’re able to really exist in America, and our conversations cannot necessarily fit into a box or be inhibited in any way. We can argue and we don’t necessarily take one side of an argument. It’s balanced. The intention of my show is to reflect that.”
While many people including lawyers attempted to deter the creator and lead actor from following through with the episode, he reveals “not doing it wasn’t an option.”
The full episode of the Comedy Actors Roundtable airs Sunday, July 17 on SundaceTV, but you can catch a snippet of Jerrod’s interview below: