Golden Globes Face Backlash Following Jo Koy’s New Sexist Jokes
Viewers of the 2024 Golden Globes Awards are outraged following host Jo Koy’s questionable jokes.
The Golden Globe Awards aired on January 7 and were hosted by stand-up comedian Jo Koy. The decision for Koy to host came very late, with the official announcement coming out on December 21, just a few days before the ceremony aired.
Koy poked fun at various nominated films and celebrities in the room, but his jokes often landed flat. He started the ceremony by explaining how he had prepared for the gig on such short notice. He joked about how he binge-watched multiple films after being asked by the Golden Globes if he had watched all of the nominated films. To prove his knowledge, Koy began explaining his interpretation of each film’s moral premise.
Koy received a few laughs from the audience, but things went downhill after the audience seemed unimpressed by him poking fun at Barbie and Oppenheimer. Like most fans, Koy joked about Oppenheimer’s long watch time, mentioning, “I’ve just got one complaint. It needed another hour.”
Koy followed up with his review of Barbie, comparing its meaning to Oppenheimer’s. “Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book…and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” Koy joked. In an attempt to justify his jokes, Koy revealed that he did not write some of the jokes in his monologue.
He then thought it would be funny to compare The Color Purple to the latest Ozempic craze. “By the way, the color purple is also what happens to your butt when you take Ozempic,” he stated.
Things took a turn for the worse when Koy turned Taylor Swift into the butt of his jokes, stating, “The big difference between the NFL and the Golden Globes? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.” Taylor looked visibly annoyed and unamused with the joke.
“And barbie was based on a plastic doll with big boobs!"
— sofia gilmore⸆⸉ (@iwannabetays) January 8, 2024
“the difference between the nfl and the golden globes is that we get less shots of taylor swift” pic.twitter.com/yyXrLQeEj3
Viewers soon took to social media to voice their disdain for the host and his cringy jokes.
Jo Koy trying to pass off plain sexism as “comedy”, will go down as one of the most embarrassing award show moments ever pic.twitter.com/akBbsSkGev
— ★Briana★ (@briana__gomez) January 8, 2024
jo koy’s “joke” about the barbie movie is exactly why the barbie movie was made
— kember, the soup company (@KembOreo) January 8, 2024
infuriating
Days after the ceremony, Koy defended his jokes in a Los Angeles Times interview, arguing, “The whole intent of that [Taylor] joke was to make fun of the NFL.”
Koy did recognize the underlying issues and prejudices within his jokes, but he still tried his best to dodge blame in The Los Angeles Times interview. “I’m telling a joke—what happened to society where we can’t even joke with each other anymore?”
Despite the rough start to the night, the Golden Globes Awards averaged around 9.4 million viewers, about a 50% increase from the 2023 ceremony. Barbie made history with its Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award win. Oppenheimer swept many of the categories, walking away with five awards.
Check out the full list of nominees and winners for the 2024 Golden Globes.
