Jo Koy Brings The Laughs In 2024 Golden Globes Opening Monologue

Promising to make fun of himself and “other people,” Koy just did that, making light of the Golden Globes’ diversities issues, while pointing out that this year’s nominees were still mostly white.

Koy pointed out the scathing story in the Martin Scorsese-directed Killers of the Flower Moon,  which sees a tribe of Osage Indians stripped of their lives and wealth by White settlers.

“White people stole everything,” Koy, whose father was white quipped. “Not like 97%. You guys stole 100% of everything.”

“You took the land, you took the oil, you took the premise of the movie,” he added, with a quick cut to the audience showing an unsmiling Scorsese.

He also poked fun at one of the film’s star, Robert De Niro, who once again become a father at 80 — but not without praising the actor first.

“Decade after decade, he kills it every single time. I don’t know how you do it, man. I swear to God. Your last performance has got to be your greatest performance ever. How did you get her pregnant at 80?” Koy joked, referring to De Niro welcoming a baby daughter with his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen. “Was it CGI?”

The camera, panning to both Chen and De Niro, seemed to illicit a chuckle from the Goodfellas star, who was all smiles during the joke.

Koy also tried, though unsuccessfully, to get Only Murders in the Building star, Meryl Streep, to do the crossed-arms gesture from Wakanda.

Imitating of his mother — a regular feature in his stand-up — Koy revealed how beloved Streep is in his household, with the award-winning actress a fan favorite to take home trophies every time she’s nominated.

“She wins everything,” Koy said in his Filipino mom’s voice. “And she was right! You do, you win all the time.”

He also took a moment to make fun of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and their Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan. While released in December 2022 with mixed reviews, the doc, which saw the pair discuss their decision to step back as working members of the royal family, earned plenty of headlines for both them and the royals in general.

“Harry and Meghan Markle got paid millions for doing absolutely nothing – and that’s just by Netflix,” he told the crowd, who laughed in response. The camera zoomed in on the streaming service’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, after he cracked the joke. Both Harry and Meghan were not present at the ceremony.

The hosting gig is a childhood dream for the longtime comedian, who ahead of the Sunday’s show told the Associated Press, the show is a “throwback” to his childhood, and “now I’m the guy who’s onstage.”

It’s also a historic moment for Koy as host, making him the second Asian host in Globes history — Sandra Oh emceed the show in 2019.

He’s hopeful his first major hosting gig will serve as inspiration for others in the Asian community.

“As a kid and watching TV and not having that many role models to kind of indirectly inspire me, that’s what this means to me,” said the Filipino American actor.

“I know there’s kids out there that will be watching the Globes,” Koy continued. “And now when they see this, it’s like ‘Oh, it’s possible. I can do this.’ Things aren’t so gray anymore. It’s not just two colors on the palette. Sometime three. Every color is on the palette. This is a beautiful moment. I really want to make sure I knock this out of the park.”

This year’s Golden Globes marks the show’s second year back at NBC after the network dropped the beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association following the reveal that it had no Black members.

After the HFPA was hit with claims that it showed racial bias in its nominations and lacked diversity and representation in its body, the organization has pledged to improve in all areas. They have diversified and expanded their membership, and even more so their voting body, and have expressed that there is more work ongoing.

As for how things have changed since the controversy, Koy told the AP, “We’re moving forward now. You learn from the past and you make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The winners of the 2024 Golden Globes will be handed out live on CBS and Paramount+ starting at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 7.