A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.
Taylor Swift
From Barbie to Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse to Killers of the Flower Moon to Cocaine Bear, audiences received a variety of films to enjoy during 2023. Some were good and some were not so great, but that’s a given. Not everything is worthy of critical acclaim. Still, on January 8th, 2024, many watched this year’s Golden Globes Awards ceremony to see if their favorites would be award-winning in the eyes of the Academy.
Interestingly, the Golden Globes announced Jo Koy as their host around two weeks before the event. CNN reported that the stand-up comic was chosen quite late due to several people declining to host the event, such as Ali Wong, Chris Rock, and Will Arnett. However, Helen Hoehne, the president of Golden Globes, expressed the company’s enthusiasm to have Koy as host, citing his “infectious energy and relatable humor.”
And while Koy may have been expecting a gilded evening, he struck fool’s gold instead. Almost immediately, the stand-up comic’s jokes fell flat and the atmosphere in the room became quite awkward. Vanity Fair’s David Canfield, who witnessed the night’s events unfold, commented, “If you’re wondering if that played as bad in the room as it (probably) did on TV, the answer is yes. I mostly saw eyes darting around tables in confusion, wondering if they were supposed to be laughing.”
Let’s address the more popular “jokes” first:
As he aimlessly drifted along in his opening speech, Jo Koy drew a comparison between the origins of Oppenheimer and Barbie, saying that the latter was based on a “plastic doll with big boobies.” … The camera cut to Greta Gerwig, director, producer, and writer for the film, who only nodded and stared disappointedly.
Additionally, he took a jab at Margot Robbie, who starred in and produced the movie, saying that not everything was about her, making her chuckle uncomfortably. He also made a comment about feeling weird because he was attracted to a plastic doll, then explained that he was referring to Ryan Gosling, who interpreted Ken in the movie. Even though Koy was attempting to flatter him, Gosling refused to entertain the humor aimed at Gerwig and Robbie, and looked at the host with a flat expression.
Then, of course, there’s the host’s joke aimed at Taylor Swift in which he highlights that the main difference between the Golden Globes and an NFL game is that they don’t have as many camera shots of the singer in the award show. Immediately we see Swift, stone-faced as she sips her drink.
Though his jokes about Taylor Swift and Barbie were by far the most talked about, Koy also made remarks regarding other nominees, as Vanity Fair and The Guardian point out. From saying that Oppenheimer needed another hour (to add to its staggering 3-hour runtime) to asking Barry Keoghan where his penis was seated (referencing that scene in Saltburn), most, if not all, of his jokes went down like a lead balloon. While the cast of Oppenheimer seemed unamused, Barry Keoghan at least laughed awkwardly.
While the overall reaction to Koy’s opening monologue started out with polite laughs, it soon devolved into silence and disappointed expressions. The jokes were cheap and poorly executed and, while it could be argued that two weeks of preparation before the ceremony wasn’t a lot of time to properly write out a monologue, the comedian immediately became defensive as the room turned on him. He went so far as to throw other writers involved under the bus, claiming, “I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”
Overall, Jo Koy’s hosting was a mess and the Internet has bashed him for his terrible execution of the gig. However, others argued that many of the attendees simply couldn’t take a joke. Greta Gerwig, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and others were criticized for their reactions towards Koy’s words, suggesting that they overreacted to them… Ah yes, the good ol’ not-really-reacting-at-anything-because-it-wasn’t-funny overreaction. My favorite! With how some people argued against the unamused reactions, you’d think these women had done something physically disruptive to interrupt the award ceremony… like getting up on the stage and berating Jo Koy, or even hitting him for his terrible speech.
Yes, that was a not-so-subtle reference to Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift in 2009, and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in 2022. Both these men were judged and faced social consequences for their actions. But Swift and Robbie faced a similar amount of criticism for simply not reacting or laughing at the Golden Globes. This is precisely why I chose to include Taylor Swift’s quote at the very beginning of this piece, because these women gave non-reactions and still got told that they’re overreacting.
The issue goes beyond just making a joke. It’s the fact that Jo Koy felt so comfortable making those jokes, minimizing the feminist message behind Barbie, and how the NFL is profiting off of Taylor and Travis’s relationship, all while feeling entitled to making a room laugh with a pathetic attempt at comedy. He doesn’t even get an ‘E’ for effort in my book. I’d recommend sticking to stand-up for the time being, Mr. Koy. Please do better.