‘Golden Globes’ Host Jo Koy Blames His Joke Writers For Bombing During Incredibly Awkward Monologue

By Anna Menta
Published Jan. 7, 2024
Updated Jan. 7, 2024

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Golden Globes 2024

Host Jo Koy didn’t exactly kill at the 81st Golden Globes on Sunday night. The comedian’s opening monologue was met with half-hearted laughter and groans, which only grew more awkward as the speech went on.

Though Koy started off on solid ground, things quickly went south when the comedian turned his attention to Barbie.

“The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to cellulite and flat feet—or what casting directors call ‘character acting.'” Koy paused for laughter, which a few audience members politely provided—a few seconds too late.

“Some I wrote, some other people wrote,” Koy quipped, when his Barbie joke failed to get a laugh. He added, “Yo, I got the gig ten 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.”

Later, Koy once again seemed hostile toward the audience after a failed Killers of the Flower Moon joke. “One thing I learned from that movie is that white people stole everything,” the comedian said. “You took the land, you took the oil, you took the premise of the movie!”

The camera cut to Scorsese, who did not look terribly amused, and the joke was met with some groans from the audience.

“What, that was your premise?” Koy challenged in response. “That’s hilarious, I don’t care. It’s just that the room is really white.”

Can’t get enough of the 2024 Golden Globes? Follow along with Decider’s coverage, including:

Koy was confirmed as a host for the Globes just two weeks before the ceremony, after the gig was reportedly turned down by a handful of other comedians first. (According to CNN, Chris Rock, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett, Ali Wong, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler all declined the offer to host.) This may be the first time audiences are meeting Koy, a Filipino-American stand-up who was a former panelist on the late night E! show Chelsea Lately. More recently, Koy was seen as the bartender in the Disney Haunted Mansion remake, and voiced supporting characters in animated kids films like The Monkey King and Leo. He also has a number of stand-up specials on Netflix.

But the reaction on Twitter to Koy wasn’t very favorable.

The 81st Golden Globes returned to primetime TV this year, despite the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—the organization of international journalists that previously voted on nominations—disbanded in 2023. The new list of voters is still journalists from all over the world, now a total of 300 people over 76 countries.

Last year’s Globes aired on NBC (though on a Tuesday night, rather than the traditional Sunday), and the year before, in 2022, the Globes were not televised at all. This year’s Globes on CBS marks somewhat of a return to normalcy for the awards, with many a A-list celebrity in attendance. But whether audiences tune in remains to be seen. That awkward monologue likely didn’t entice many to stay tuned in!