Jan. 18, 2024
There was a moment of mixed reaction at the Golden Globes which caused much controversy and criticism amongst audiences, as comedian host Jo Koy went under fire for his flat monologue to introduce the awards ceremony. By: Dylan Low
Following a sequence of recent controversies, the 81st annual Golden Globes 2024 returned with a big bang as an awards show, and headlines for wrong reasons as well.
American stand-up comedian and actor Jo Koy, who was only announced as the host two weeks before the ceremony, started the awards with a monologue which came across to many as cumbersome, contentious, and largely uncomfortable. Ultimately, it set up a night that failed to impress.
Making history as the only second person to host the Annual film and awards, his act began with the usual practice of celebrity ribbing – as Koy made jokes of Robert De Niro, the acclaimed Barbie film and five-time Golden Globe nominee Taylor Swift. His lines fell flat with the attendees and even audiences, with many heading to social media claiming the comedian is not funny, and in a particular instance, misogynistic.
One of his monologues was a joke towards Barbie, which unintentionally described the underlying sexism that the film underwent and the main idea of the whole movie.
“Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” he said. "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,” he added.
The joke evoked unimpressed reactions from the attendees, with grimaced expressions from Helen Mirren and Selena Gomez, alongside unamused looks from the Barbie cast and crew, consisting of co-writer and director Greta Gerwig and stars Ryan Gosling and Issa Rae.
Jo Koy also targeted a monologue towards Taylor Swift, saying, “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFT. On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift, I swear.”
This elicited an iconic response from Swift when the cameras panned, featuring her stone-faced as she took a sip from her drink.
Following the ceremony, Jo Koy addressed the tough situation surrounding his hosting gig. He outspoken about the fact he was not offered the job (to host) until two weeks prior, stating “it’s been a crash course in hosting.”
He also further commented, “It’s a tough room. It was a hard job, I’m not going to lie…I’d be lying if [I said] it doesn’t hurt. I hit a moment there where I was like, ‘Ah.’ hosting is just a tough gig.”
While Koy has been transparent and authentic regarding the whole situation, it looks to take some time before this controversy at the Golden Globes dies down.
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