COMEDIAN Jo Koy only had about two weeks to prepare for his hosting gig, and some of his jokes seemingly fell flat during his opening monologue.
The first Filipino-American entertainer to host the 81st annual Golden Globes garnered a few laughs poking fun at Oppenheimer and Saltburn, but his jokes about Barbie elicited mostly blank stares and silence from the crowd.
What did fans say about Jo Koy’s Barbie jokes at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards?
Jo Koy got off to a great start as the host of the 81st annual Golden Globes, making the room laugh with his hot takes on the biggest films of 2023.
However, his jokes about one of the year’s most critically and commercially successful films, Barbie, seemingly fell flat to the Globe’s in-house audience and at-home viewers.
During his opening monologue, Koy hyped up some of the night’s nominated films, including Oppenheimer and Saltburn.
However, when he got to Barbie, fans thought he had a questionable choice of words to describe the film.
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“Barbie was based on a plastic doll with big boobs,” he uttered.
Viewers took to social media to share their thoughts, tweeting their reactions to Jo Koy’s jokes on X, formerly Twitter.
Most of the reactions were critical of Koy’s take, calling his jokes “sexist.”
One user wrote: “Jo Koy clearly did NOT watch Barbie.”
“The awkward silence at Jo Koy’s Barbie jokes… He told smart jokes about the other nominees and all he had about Barbie was ‘big boobs,'” tweeted one user.
“This Jo Koy guy just had to include some sexist jokes about Barbie. Gross,” wrote another.
“The Barbie part of Jo Koy’s opening monologue was completely sexist and making fun of imperfection when literally that’s what the movie fought AGAINST? Like c’mon,” one user tweeted.
Another user wrote: “Jo Koy’s monologue is absolutely awful. I think most of the audience is just pity laughing and his bad jokes about Barbie, show he didn’t understand Barbie.”
Even the Barbie cast and crew were caught on camera, seemingly cringing at the tasteless jokes.
The film’s director, Greta Gerwig, and stars, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, and Issa Rae were caught on camera with their lips pursed, showing the audience and viewers at home that this was no laughing matter.
One viewer at home even said they were done watching the first award show of the season, writing: “jo koy has already lost me with his comments on Barbie.”
What awards was Barbie nominated for?
Barbie was the most-nominated film at the 2024 Golden Globes, leading the pack with nominations in nine unique categories.
Barbie was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Margot Robbie, the film’s titular star, was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture, but lost out to Oppenheimer’s Robert Downey Jr.
Greta Gerwig was nominated for Best Director – Motion Picture.
Gerwig and her husband, Noah Baumbach, were nominated for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture.
The film also received three nominations for Best Original Song -Motion Picture, including Dance the Night, I’m Just Ken, and What Was I Made For?
The film also secured a nomination in one of two new categories to make their debut in 2024, for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
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Who is Jo Koy?
Joseph Glenn Herbert Sr., known by his professional moniker Jo Koy, is a Filipino-American comedian, actor, and entertainer.
He is best known for his stint as a long-time panelist on E!’s late-night show, Chelsea Lately.
Koy famously dated the show’s star, Chelsea Handler, from September 2021 to June 2022.
Viewers are also likely to recognize him from his Comedy Central and Netflix stand-up specials, including 2017’s Live From Seattle and 2019’s Comin’ In Hot.
Since then, Koy has also appeared in several movies, TV series, and animated films, including Easter Sunday, Haunted Mansion, The Monkey King, Leo, and Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.