Jerrod Carmichael Reveals the Surprisingly Decent Advice He Got From Bill Cosby

Jerrod Carmichael, left; Bill Cosby.

Jerrod Carmichael, left; Bill Cosby.
Photo: Danny Matson for SXSW; Gilbert Carrasquillo (Getty Images)

Prior to Bill Cosby being exposed during the #MeToo movement and subsequent trial and multiple sexual assault lawsuits lobbed against him—it seems he did a bit of good for fellow comic Jerrod Carmichael.

Speaking in an interview on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” on Thursday, Carmichael revealed that it was the now-disgraced comedian who gave him a piece of invaluable advice years ago that he applied to his current HBO series, “The Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show”.

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Explaining that it’s hard to rewatch all the more “vulnerable” moments of the show, Carmichael admitted that he sometimes felt compelled to edit those moments out—but Cosby advised against it.

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“It’s hard week to week to have to relive some of these moments. I stay out of the editing room ‘cause I’ll take out all the good stuff. Like, I’ll be really precious and go, ‘I’ll take out the things that make me look bad,’ but that—the show wouldn’t be good,” he said.

Jerrod Carmichael Talks Reality Show and Telling a Shocking Joke on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

When asked by Meyers who he learned to stay out of the edit room from, Carmichael said:

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“Honestly, Bill Cosby. It was advice I got from Bill Cosby, he said, ‘Stay out of the editing room.’ He told me that and then I never talked to him again. I think he went to jail or something.”

Carmichael has since spoken out about Cosby in the years since their exchange. He, along with other comedians such W. Kamau Bell have grappled with how to talk about juggling Cosby’s undeniable legacy and holding space for the people he harmed all while curating that same legacy.

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Hmm, that sounds oddly familiar to another figure who’s currently in the news right now, doesn’t it?