Jo Koy has returned to stand-up comedy following his disastrous Golden Globes hosting gig — and he’s seemingly pointing fingers at the celebrities in the crowd.
“Lot a marshmallows, man,” Koy, 52, quipped during his Friday, January 12, comedy set in St. Louis after mentioning his “whirlwind” week, per Variety. “They’re delicious, but goddamn, they’re soft. I just come from a different time. I see the changes that are happening. I get it, but goddamn, can we f–king laugh at ourselves?”
Koy hosted the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 7, which was his first time emceeing an awards show. In his opening monologue, he notably dissed Barbie — which costarred nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling — as well as fellow nominees Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Taylor Swift. Many of his jokes bombed, with the star-studded crowd and at-home viewers unimpressed by his attempts.
“Yo, I got this gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue? Shut up,” Koy said during the Sunday broadcast. “You’re kidding me, right? I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”
Koy, who later told the Los Angeles Times that it was a “rookie movie” to place blame on his writing team, does not regret any of his jokes.
Jo Koy
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Moët & Chandon“I got a feeling none of you motherf—kers watched it, and I’m kinda happy,” he said on Friday. “Oh my, God. It feels good to live in this country. We get to say what we want to say. Don’t be apologetic about it at all. Be able to … speak your mind.”
According to Variety, Koy never mentioned the Globes by name but was excited to leave the bright lights of L.A. for the time being.
“The weather is better in Hollywood, but I’m happy to be in this blizzard. When it rains, it pours,” he joked, referring to the snowstorm that occurred in Missouri earlier that day. “Here in St. Louis, [you’ve got] people that listen to you, understand you and understand we’re not all out to attack each other. It’s stupid in LA.”
Koy’s Globes appearance has remained a trending topic for nearly an entire week following the show. Marvel star Simu Liu even threw subtle shade at Koy’s joke about Swift, 34, when he announced his People’s Choice Awards hosting role.
“There will be no Taylor slander at the 2024 PCAs,” Liu, 34, wrote via social media on Thursday, January 11, referring to Koy’s Sunday line that the Globes would have fewer cutaways to Swift than NFL games.
Swift, who has been a staple at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs games since September 2023, appeared visibly annoyed by the remark. Koy has since confirmed that he did not mean to offend the pop star.
“The whole intention of that joke was to make fun of the NFL,” Koy told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. “It’s like, the cool thing about the Globes is we don’t need to do cutaways for ratings. What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her [and] I love her work. I got nieces that I bought [concert] tickets for. There’s no ill intent in that joke.”
