Stars Looked Very Uncomfortable as Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Bombed
His jokes about 'Barbie' and Taylor Swift were particularly ill-received.
The 81st Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, which marked the first time the ceremony was overseen by Dick Clark Productions instead of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. But even with the historically issue-plagued HFPA no longer associated, the show struggled to find a host, which is perhaps why comedian Jo Koy was chosen just weeks before the show was set to air.
Many viewers were unfamiliar with Koy, who until now, was perhaps best known for dating Chelsea Handler and appearing as a panelist on Handler's now-defunct E!'s talk show, Chelsea Lately. But even taking into considering his apparent lack of prep time, the 52-year-old floundered onstage, resorting to low-hanging jokes that felt tone deaf considering the history of the awards show.
And when those jokes failed to land, Koy lashed out at the audience and threw his writers under the bus.
The two jokes that fell most noticeably flat were lobbed at Greta Gerwig's generally beloved Barbie and Taylor Swift, whose The Eras Tour film was nominated for the new Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category. Koy's jokes about Barbie, in particular, were especially groan-worthy as they seemed to contradict the entire point of the movie.
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After reducing the all-time highest grossing movie from a female director as being about "a plastic doll with big boobies," Koy added: "The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet. Or what casting directors call 'character actor.'"
Suffice to say, the atmosphere at the Globes became even chillier than a bottle of Moët, as evidenced by the reaction from stars at their tables.
Golden Globes host Jo Koy just went off-script after one of his jokes bombed: “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.”#GoldenGlobes2024 pic.twitter.com/K6DIDtdCes
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) January 8, 2024
Here's Emma Stone, Selena Gomez, Ayo Edebiri, Helen Mirren, Yorgos Lanthimos and Harrison Ford during the joke ???? #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/4BFr828qtI
— Priyant ???????????? (@Priyant1987) January 8, 2024
This shot is so brutal, as if someone from the control room knew Jo Koy was gonna bomb hard after the Barbie joke they made sure to get a wide shot of the audience. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/u78k5vBS4l
— Dwight De Leon (@newsdwight) January 8, 2024
HARRISON FORD AFTER ONE OF JO KOY'S JOKES PLEASE ???????????? #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Z9d72rK94S
— maddie (@maddiecar_) January 8, 2024
When it came to Swift, Koy made another tired joke about the singer's high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. "As you know, we came on after a football double header," he said during his opening monologue. "The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL. On the Golden Globes, we have have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift, I swear."
When the cameras cut to Swift in the audience, she responded with only what will surely become a reaction GIF for the ages.
“Sorry about that.” Jo Koy bombs as host of the Golden Globes. Taylor Swift’s reaction to his joke about her says it all. pic.twitter.com/VAAiNdRkoT
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 8, 2024
every single outlet cooking jo koy along with the rest of us oh it’s bad for him pic.twitter.com/7GPBwt90Ds
— annie (@graynovember13) January 8, 2024
Later, Swift's longtime friend Emma Stone—who won best performance for her film Poor Things, which also won for best picture—minced no words, calling Koy an "asshole" not once but twice in a post-awards show press conference.
#EmmaStone saying Asshole to Jo koy after her jokes about #TaylorSwift
— Aliyana G (@Aliyana567) January 8, 2024
Yes mother yes #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2024 pic.twitter.com/UsZ8IK7oAu
Suffice to say the gig didn't exactly earn Koy glowing reviews.