Jo Koy's hosting of the Golden Globes 2024 drew mixed reactions from viewers, with many roasting the stand-up comedian for his "tasteless" and "awkward" jokes.
As expected, Jo Koy's monologue largely targeted the movies and actors nominated for this year's awards.
Read: Fil-Am Jo Koy tapped to host Golden Globes 2024
Most of the jokes, however, fell flat, and the Filipino-American comedian struggled to connect and establish rapport with celebrity guests and the audience.
Jo Koy's dig on the movie Barbie was labeled "misogynist" and even the film's cast and crew present at the ceremony appeared unamused by the comment.
"Barbie was based on a plastic doll with big boobs," said Jo Koy.
He also remarked, "It was kind of weird being attracted to a plastic doll" and that the key moment in Barbie "is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet, or what casting directors call character acting."
As for Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller Oppenheimer, Jo Koy quipped, "I’ve just got one complaint: It needed another hour. I feel like it needed some more backstory."
He took another jab at the film's length, saying, "My New Year’s resolution for 2024 is to finish Oppenheimer in 2025.”
Oppenheimer runs a total of three hours, making it Christopher's longest film to date.
HITTING TAYLOR SWIFT
Jo Koy's joke about singer-songwriter Taylor Swift also received cold shoulders from the viewers, including Taylor herself.
Read: Story behind Taylor Swift jar for Swiftie wife who can't stop talking about the pop star
“We came on after a football doubleheader,” said Jo Koy.
“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL… On the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift."
He was referring to Taylor's much-publicized romance with American football player Travis Kelce.
Since coming out in the open, Taylor has been spotted watching NFL (National Football League) games to support Travis and his team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Taylor's reaction to Jo Koy's joke was caught by the cameras, and it was telling to say the least.
Host Jo Koy calls out Taylor Swift at the #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/f4IYuI9jA2
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) January 8, 2024
NETIZENS REACT
Reactions to Jo Koy's jokes quickly spread on social media.
Needless to say, many were not entertained by Jo Koy's monologue and slammed him for his performance.
If Taylor Swift death stares could actually kill, Jo Koy would now be deceased. pic.twitter.com/AsuXdy1cNK
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 8, 2024
oh that joke was NOT it…… not funny at ALL. the golden globes are so lucky to have taylor swift there in the first place - their viewership probably increased like CRAZY because of that. and they have the audacity to make that misogynistic joke?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/JGQcVb0vuh
— sanya | hasn’t met taylor ???? (@SanyaTheSwiftie) January 8, 2024
Who on EARTH is this Jo Koy guy and why is he dissing Barbie and Taylor Swift, to the point of dozens of disappointed faces and the biggest star of the evening leaving early...
— chevy (@midastouchchevy) January 8, 2024
The audience was not impressed woth Jo Koy tonight at the Golden Globes #JoKoy #GoldenGlobes2024 pic.twitter.com/Aoyob5sCFF
— Peter Lynch (@realpeterlynch) January 8, 2024
Jo Koy is only funny when he doing jokes about Asians. That opening monologue for the golden globes was horrible and hard to watch.
— Nico DeCastro (@N1C0D) January 8, 2024
Others called Jo Koy's lines "cringe," his performance "painful to watch," and questioned the organizers for tapping the stand-up comedian to host the occasion.
In his defense, Jo Koy told the audience after one of his jokes bombed: “Yes, I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up.
"You’re kidding me, right? Slow down, I wrote some of these and they are the ones you are laughing at.”
He also said about his lines, "Some I wrote, some other people wrote."
It was earlier reported that the hosting gig for this year's Golden Globes was initially pitched to other comedians, including Ali Wong and Chris Rock, but all turned down the offer.
Jo Koy was the first Filipino-American to host the prestigious event.
FUNNY MOMENTS
But while many of Jokoy's banter didn't go well, some jokes managed to make the audience laugh.
He asked Barry Keoghan, star of the movie Saltburn, “Where is your penis seated? Down front? That was the real star of the show.”
Jo Koy was referring to Barry's role, particularly his nude dancing scene and the attention garnered by his character's genital size as seen in the film.
Veteran actor Robert De Niro was caught smiling after Jo Koy teased him about being a father at an advanced age.
“Robert De Niro, your last performance is your greatest performance — how’d you get her pregnant at 80?” asked Jo Koy.
"[Prince] Harry and Meghan Markle got paid millions for doing absolutely nothing — and that’s just by Netflix," said Jo Koy, a remark that amused Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and some members of the audience.
Netflix released the documentary Harry & Meghan in December 2022.
Jo Koy has four stand-up specials streaming on Netflix: Live from Seattle (2017), Comin' in Hot (2019), In His Elements (2020), and Live from the LA Forum (2022).