The comedian, 35, used humor to breach multiple sensitive topics during the 80th annual ceremony, including comments about racism, Tom Cruise and scientology, the Will Smith slap, and even the amount of money he was paid for hosting the event. But many viewers thought he took things too far after making “tasteless” remark about Houston’s death at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2012. During the show—which took place at the noteworthy Los Angeles location—Carmichael said the Golden Globes showrunners wanted him to give a shoutout to the famed hotel. He then introduced the venue as “the hotel that killed Whitney Houston, the Beverly Hilton,” which prompted an awkward rumble from the audience. Houston tragically died at age 48 in 2012, when she accidentally drowned in the bathtub of her hotel room at the renowned hotel. At the time, the Los Angeles County chief coroner told People the superstar’s death was complicated by “chronic cocaine use and heart disease.” Following Carmichael’s joke on Tuesday night, many of Houston’s fans took to Twitter to condemn the “tasteless” comment, including one person who wrote, “Whitney Houston jokes are never funny at all.” “cannot put into words the disgust I feel from the whitney houston “joke” jerrod carmichael just made, no words,” another person tweeted, while someone else urged, “Hollywood please let her rest.” Carmichael’s controversial joke also comes in the wake of the new Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, making the timing of the comment even more questionable. “So tired of people still making crass offensive jokes about Whitney Houston. The woman is deceased, and they need to respect her and respect the dead. he knew better, but he went there,” another person lamented. But the cavalier mention of Houston’s death wasn’t the only thing that got Twitter users upset, as many were also annoyed with Carmichael’s joke about Will Smith and the infamous Oscars slap. Read more about the internet’s reaction here.
