Koy Chokes at the Globes
“‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and ‘Barbie’ is based on a plastic doll with big boobies!” comedian and host Jo Koy exclaimed in his opening monologue at the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards. Over the span of Koy’s 30-year stand-up comedy career, he has accumulated six Netflix specials, 11 sold-out shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall and was awarded stand-up comedian of the year in 2018. The award show was taking place at a precarious time in the entertainment industry, with the writers’ and actors’ strike ending in early November.
Several celebrities were asked to host the Golden Globe Awards, including Chris Rock and Ali Wong, but all of them refused (Rolling Stone). Finally, Koy was asked to take the job two weeks before the broadcast, giving him nine days to prepare a script with his writers. When interviewed before the show, he was overjoyed by his first major hosting job and was excited to bring his comedy to the Globes’ stage (Associated Press News). Precalculus with Limits and Advanced Placement Calculus AB teacher, Henry Chou, believes there should have been an alternate host to the Golden Globe Awards.
“As a comedian, even with [such a] short time to prepare for a national award show, the jokes should have at least been decent,” Chou said. “Although I [find his] stand up specials entertaining and [enjoy] his style of comedy, there should have been a more appropriate comedian or host to present [the award show].”
Koy’s comedic style incorporates a relatable, family-inspired sense of humor. The majority of his shows are based on observational jokes stemming from his childhood in a Filipino American household. Koy incorporates his signature style in every stand up performance; however, the Golden Globes Awards typically has a more conservative and professional approach. Koy wanted to implement his humor into this year’s presentation, but felt his jokes fell flat due to limited time to compose a well-written monologue, which angered many viewers. Koy sensed the tension in the room as he tried to win back the audience by acknowledging it. He began to feel vulnerable, breaking from his script and blaming his writers for the ill-received jokes (Vulture). He received backlash for his racist and sexist criticisms on many of the nominated films and shows. Within three minutes of his opening monologue, Koy fired the infamous joke comparing plots of the films “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie”. The cameras immediately cut to the audience’s reaction, which displayed widespread disapproval and discomfort, including the director of “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig. “Barbie” is a fundamental narrative about humanity and the complexity of emotions that humans bear; it also signifies that the sexism and misogyny women experience do not define them. During Koy’s speech, he skims past the importance of the story and the historically vulnerable topics within the movie, to which women have felt empowered, and reduces the film to a sexual joke (The Daily Tar Heel). As a viewer of Koy’s comedy specials on Netflix, senior Calla Seo is not shocked by his inappropriate jokes.
“After watching [Koy] for so many years, it is not surprising to see him make these sexual jokes, [seeing as he has made such jokes in previous shows],” Seo said. “It was very upsetting to see him make such remarks on ‘Barbie,’ diminishing [its female significance]. As I see it], the jokes and comments he prepared for this award show [were] very inappropriate and [quite] frankly, extremely [cringe worthy].”
“Barbie” was not the only movie that received commentary from Koy, with “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “The Crown” also met with his scathing banter that received uncomfortable silence and averted eyes from attendees. Halfway through his monologue, he commends the cast of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” but quickly follows up with, “One thing I learned about that movie is that white people stole everything, you guys stole like everything. The land, the oil, the premise of the movie…” After his remarks, the crowd did not have a reaction, causing Koy to immediately defend himself onstage with quips acknowledging his joke’s lukewarm response. When reflecting on his performance, the comedian admits that it was a “tough room” and his jokes did not land the way he had hoped. Despite the criticism, the night did have accomplishments in terms of diversity. Koy, the second ever Asian host for the Globes, primarily explained that he agreed to doing the show to represent the Asian community in his interview after the production with the Golden Globes Press Preview. He was titled the first Filipino American to ever host the Golden Globes. Junior Kate Espedido was an observer of the award show who strongly disagreed with the host and his lack of preparation. “As a Filipino, I respect the representation given to the [fellow] Filipino and Asian community; [however], casting Jo Koy as the host was just a disappointment [to me],” Espedido said. “I understand we need diversity, but people who joke about their native culture [with seemingly relatable jokes] are not suitable for this job. He [also] should have been more prepared for his jokes, which were rude and detrimental.”
