The crowd at the 2024 Golden Globes Awards couldn’t stop applauding brilliant stories from the recently concluded year. From Oppenheimer and Poor Things to Barbie and Anatomy of a Fall, all received recognition for bringing viewers to the edge of their seats in their unique ways.
However, the same crowd at the Beverly Hilton was very unforgiving to Jo Kay’s hosting gig, refusing to lend their laughs to the majority of his jokes, which went down one by one, like a deflated balloon. His initial explanation, which included a dig at his writers, only cemented his place as the most unpopular figure in the room on Sunday night.
Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Receives Backlash for Hanging His Writers Out to Dry
Jo Koy tried to make the audience laugh by making remarks at Oppenheimer‘s length, Barbie’s b-obs, and Barry Keoghan’s p-nis. He also joked about Taylor Swift‘s frequent NFL appearances. The Eras Tour star is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
In return, he got a blank stare from Harrison Ford and a straight-faced reaction from Taylor Swift. Oh, and there was a cold sip of a drink from the Blank Space singer as well. Meanwhile, it seemed Selena Gomez felt second-hand embarrassment, as she buried her face in her hands after Koy’s commentary on “character actor”.
Koy realized very quickly that he had got on the wrong foot of the audience, and accordingly yelled: “I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”
When Koy’s Oppenheimer joke didn’t land, he seemingly criticized his writers, muttering: “That’s so stupid.”
The idea to throw his writers under the bus didn’t go down well on social media.
Bro must’ve felt so embarrassed after no one laughed at his joke 💀
— Lachesis (@LachesisHD) January 8, 2024
He didn’t just fall short; he went off the cliff and experienced a horrific crash.
— Muhammad Zubair (@MZaibi74) January 8, 2024
I feel like if you’re funny, 10 days is an ample amount of time. But then again, he is not funny so maybe hacks need like months worth of prep time?
— the World’s Greatest Narcissist (@JAMnit_JAM) January 8, 2024
I Coulda Wrote Something Better In 10 Days
— 𝙸𝚝𝚜𝚁𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜🏳️⚧️🧩 (@ItsRandomWordss) January 8, 2024
10 minutes in and Jo Koy has already:
– Threw his writers under the bus
– Made 76 offensive jokes
– Endlessly complained the audience isn’t digging his jokes
– Made everyone in the world hate him
– Made everyone grateful for Jerrod Carmichael from last year— TylerCWhitmore (@TylerCWhitmore) January 8, 2024
Considering the industry recently returned from a strike, where lack of recognition of writers was one of the biggest issues, Koy’s initial defense was naive, to say the least.
What Jo Koy Said About His Frustrating Golden Globes Outing
Amid the backlash on social media, the Filipino-American comedian and actor appeared on ABC’s GMA3: What You Need to Know and admitted it was a hard job.
Koy, who boasts four comedy specials on Netflix and has agreed to do two more, underlined hosting and stand-up comedy aren’t the same.
“You know, it was a moment that I’ll always remember. It’s a tough room,” he said (via The Guardian). “It was a hard job, I’m not going to lie … I’d be lying if [I said] it doesn’t hurt … Hosting is just a tough gig. Yes, I’m a standup comic but that hosting position it’s a different style. I kind of went in and did the writers’ thing. We had 10 days to write this monologue. It was a crash course. I feel bad, but I got to still say I loved what I did.”
However, one stand-up comedian and experienced host had a much better night. Five-time Golden Globes host, Ricky Gervais, won an award for best performance in stand-up comedy on television for his Netflix special Armageddon.
