AceShowbiz - Whitney Houston's estate wasn't amused by Jerrod Carmichael's joke at the 2023 Golden Globes. The late singer's longtime manager and sister-in-law, Pat Houston, called out the comedian for bringing up Whitney's death during his hosting gig.

"The Whitney Houston Estate is disappointed in the joke," a representative for Pat told TMZ. "And [they] felt it was in poor taste."

At the annual award-giving show, Jerrod greeted the audience with a reference to Whitney's tragic 2012 death. "So, we are here, live, from the hotel that killed Whitney Houston, the Beverly Hilton," he told the shocked audience.

Jerrod has since drawn backlash. "I didn't like that Whitney Houston joke at all. That was so tasteless and disrespectful to her," one Twitter user argued. "Okay that Whitney Houston joke was... yikes. Not good," another opined, while the third believed that the comic has "crossed the line."

Whitney died on February 11, 2012 at the age of 48 after accidentally drowning in a bathtub at the hotel. It was later unveiled that heart disease and cocaine played a role in her death.

At the Tuesday night, January 10 event, Jerrod also made fun of Will Smith, who slapped Chris Rock at last year's Academy Awards. "While we were on commercial, we actually presented Will Smith with the Rock Hudson award for best portrayal of masculinity on television," the 35-year-old said onstage. "So please give it up for Will Smith. Please! Please!"

Jerrod went on to mock Tom Cruise and Scientology as he mentioned the actor's three Golden Globes which were returned. "Hey, guys backstage I found these," the funnyman said while holding three trophies in his hand on stage. "[It's the] three Golden Globe awards that Tom Cruise returned. I'm just a host briefly, or whatever, but I have a pitch I think maybe we take these three things and exchange them for the safe return of Shelly Miscavige."