When addressing his sexuality on 'The Howard Stern Show', the star of 'The Carmichael Show' talks about redefining his interpretation of religion and trying to get his mother to break out of hers.

• Apr 29, 2022

AceShowbiz - Jerrod Carmichael has to pay a hefty price for coming out of the closet. The star and co-creator of "The Carmichael Show" admitted to having a "God-sized wall" between him and his mother after he opened up about being gay.

During his appearance in the Thursday, April 28 episode of "The Howard Stern Show", the 35-year-old comic spoke up about his current relationship with his mother. "Me and my mother have this God-sized wall between us. You know, that's the impossible thing to navigate," he dished to host Howard.

Jerrod noted that his mother's deep rooted connection to Christianity made her incapable of accepting his sexuality. "It's a tricky thing because people -- well, my mother -- holds on to religion because it got her through really rough times in her life," he explained, "She didn't account for a gay son. She doesn't really know what to do with it."

The "On the Count of Three" actor also confessed that the religion had led him to hate himself. "Causing self-hate and that was really destructive and it's been very difficult," he elaborated, "I'm trying to trust fall into a new interpretation of religion because I do think it has value. I'm trying to reinterpret it and I've been trying to get my mom to have some type of openness to her interpretation."

Though he understood that his mother was confused, Jerrod admitted that talking to her had become really difficult. "I can feel her being lost. I want to work with her but talking to her and not acknowledging that part of myself causes a reverberating effect of self-hate that I can't afford right now," he stated, "So, I added distance. I think it's important."

During the chat, Jerrod also told the host that he and his mother used to talk everyday before he came out. "She used to sing [Aretha Franklin]'s 'Say a Little Prayer' before shows. Yeah, we talked everyday and we don't anymore," he recalled. He claimed that he did not want their conversation "to be fake." He added, "I'm also trying to eliminate that from my life and eliminate it from my work and just be truthful."

However, the 35-year-old found it devastating not being able to talk about himself to his mother. "Knowing that it's off the table. If someone just refused to acknowledge you have a show, that would be a little weird. You have to talk around it," he admitted, "It's hard not to be yourself especially with someone you love so much."

Thankfully, it is not all bad for Jerrod. While his mother struggled, his dad accepted him for who he is. The actor noted that his father was even playing as "referee" between him and his mom. He went on to give an example by reading the text he received from his dad about his mom.

"He said, 'Your mom called the other day, so take some time to call her. She loves you and misses her baby boy, take care,' " he spilled, "What I wrote back was, 'I know. I love her too, but her baby boy is now a big gay man and I think we need some time to come to terms with that.' And that's where we are."