Steve Granitz / Contributor; Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024 / Contributor
Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Defends Joke About Taylor Swift After Fan Outrage: ‘It Was Cute’
Golden Globes host Jo Koy defended his joke about the broadcast having “fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift” than the NFL after it was widely criticized by fans.
“Aww, man, it was cute. I was just saying it was cute,” Jo, 52, told Entertainment Tonight after the Sunday, January 7, show. “I was just saying it’s less cutaways, that’s all.”
Fans took to social media to call the comedian out after Taylor herself seemed unamused by the quip. When cameras panned to the pop superstar, 34, for her reaction, she, without a smile, simply took a sip of her drink. “Sorry about that,” Jo immediately added from the stage, seemingly in response to Taylor’s icy reaction.
“idk who Jo Koy is, but if Taylor Swift looked at me like that after a failed joke at her expense, I would quite simply dissolve down to my component molecules,” one fan humorously wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter).
Jo’s subtle dig at the Grammy winner wasn’t the only moment from his monologue that sparked outrage from viewers. Another poorly received joke referred to Greta Gerwig’s 2023 Barbie movie, which was nominated in the same category as Taylor’s concert film, as being based “on a plastic doll with big boobies.”
“Not sure what part of the Barbie ‘joke’ Jo Koy thought was funny?!” one wrote on X. “The whole point of the movie was because of people like u making sexist jokes about women! … GROW UP and maybe watch the film!”
“After hearing Jo Koy’s comment about Barbie being ‘About a plastic doll with big boobies’ my mind instantly went to THIS speech!” another X user wrote, attaching America Ferrera’s “It is literally impossible to be a woman” monologue from the blockbuster film.
Seemingly aware that his jokes weren’t hitting, Jo called out the audience of stars from the stage, saying, “Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue? Shut up. You’re kidding me right?”
“Some other people wrote that one,” Jo added, claiming that the jokes he wrote are “the ones [people are] laughing at.”
Eagle-eyed fans noted that the “Karma” singer seemed to leave the ceremony early after her Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film lost to Barbie for the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. However, some viewers speculated that the “Cruel Summer” singer’s early exit was due to her lack of enthusiasm for Jo’s jokes rather than her loss to Barbie, as she was notably the first to give the film’s winners an enthusiastic standing ovation following their win in her category.
“Taylor left BYEE SHES SO REALL,” another X user wrote. “she just like me. sorry that f—king host made shit unbearable. There’s no dancing… no music. I need the Grammys asap.”
Taylor previously addressed the frequent shots of her supporting her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, from the box at Chiefs games in her December 2023 TIME cover story interview. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads,” she famously said.
“There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she told the outlet at the time. “I’m just there to support Travis.”
