Jo Koy, a comedian, hosted the Golden Globes on Jan. 7, but his jokes did not deliver as planned. Now, the internet is in an uproar.
One of these jokes that went over poorly was about the movie, “Barbie”, which Koy compared to “Oppenheimer”. Koy commented that “Oppenheimer” “is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project,” while diminishing “Barbie” to a movie “on a plastic doll with big boobies”. This comment turned some heads but not in a good way.
Greta Gerwig said she made “Barbie” because, “I want the movie to make people feel somewhat relieved of the tightrope. We ask ourselves — not just as women, men too — that we walk this impossible tightrope of being perfect.” She added, “Barbie has always been a symbol of this thing that you could never reach because she physically couldn’t stand up if she were a human being. So I wanted it to almost invert that formula and find a way that it gave you permission to just be yourself and know that that’s enough.”
Because Gerwig created this movie to represent the human experience, especially for women, many feel Koy’s joke was not appropriate. People have taken to social media to call him out for not understanding the point of the film or to call him out as being a part of the reason the film was created. This was the main joke that made the internet spiral, but it was not alone.
Another joke Koy told in his monologue was directed at the singer and songwriter, Taylor Swift. He remarked, “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.” The cameras then panned to Swift who did not look amused by his joke and took a sip of her drink while remaining straight-faced. Taylor’s reaction is what made the joke look more offensive than funny. However, people on social media have taken sides. Some calling out Koy, as Swift doesn’t control the NFl coverage, others defending Koy by saying Swift overreacted to the joke.
These jokes also caught the attention of Chelsea Handler, who recently hosted the Critics Choice Awards. Handler is also Koy’s ex-girlfriend. During the Critics Choice Awards, Handler mentioned in her monologue, “Thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it.” This joke poked fun at a line Koy said at the Golden Globes after making a joke that did not land.
Koy stated at a post event press conference on the night of the Golden Globes that he had taken the hosting gig just two weeks before. In several interviews, he told reporters that he did not have much time to prepare or rehearse but still wanted to take on the challenge. This may have been why Jo Koy’s jokes fell flat for the audience at the event and those watching at home.
