Jerrod Carmichael faces backlash over 'tasteless' Whitney Houston joke at Golden Globes

Jerrod Carmichael is being slammed for a joke he made about late pop star Whitney Houston at the 80th Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The 35-year-old comedian served as the award show’s first Black host during the ceremony, which found him cracking jokes about the lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press, Tom Cruise's involvement with the Church of Scientology and Will Smith's infamous 2021 Oscar slap.

During his opening monologue, the former star and creator of “The Carmichael Show” greeted the A-list audience members with a reference to Houston's tragic 2012 death. "So, we are here, live, from the hotel that killed Whitney Houston, the Beverly Hilton," Carmichael said to stunned silence.

Houston died on Feb. 11, 2012, at age 48, after accidentally drowning in a bathtub at the famed hotel.

Carmichael came under fire for the remark on Twitter, with many critics calling the joke "tasteless."

"I didn’t like that Whitney Houston joke at all. That was so tasteless and disrespectful to her,” wrote one.

“Okay that Whitney Houston joke was... yikes. Not good,” added another.

Another critic said Carmichael "crossed the line" with the remark, writing, "That is not comedy. That’s destructive and distasteful!"

Others demanded that Carmichael issue an apology for the remark. "It was very disrespectful and I feel he @JCarmIchael needs to apologize for saying the tasteless and insensitive joke," wrote one.

Though Carmichael was called out for being insensitive, many of the night's winners, including "Glee" and "Pose" creator Ryan Murphy, were applauded for delivering uplifting acceptance speeches.

Murphy, who was presented with the night's Carol Burnett Award for his contributions to television, used nearly all of his time at the microphone to focus on several of the "fearless" LGBTQ actors he has partnered with over the years, calling them "heroes of mine."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com