Jo Koy fired back at celebrities after he seemingly bombed hosting the 2024 Golden Globes.
On Friday, January 12, the comedian did his first stand-up show since his January 7 performance at the awards show. While at speaking to a supportive crowd at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, the star poked fun at all the backlash he received following the nationally televised event.
“I haven’t laughed in four days," he began, referencing the tough week he’s had. The jokester’s show also was apparently not supposed to happen due to weather, which he incorporated into his set, noting, “The weather is better in Hollywood, but I’m happy to be in this blizzard. When it rains, it pours.”
He then took a dig at his Golden Globes audience — including superstars such as Taylor Swift, who did not seem to appreciate the host’s quips about her.
“Lot a marshmallows, man. They’re delicious, but goddamn, they’re soft. I just come from a different time," he said of the room full of A-listers he performed for.
As OK! previously reported, Koy did not receive much support for his Golden Globes performance, especially for his comment regarding Swift, where he said, "The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift."
The camera then panned to the Grammy winner, who didn't seem to find the joke funny, as she sipped on a glass of champagne with a straight face.
Koy later discussed this reaction in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Thursday, January 11.
"I didn’t understand the Taylor [Swift] tiff. Mind you, that one was just getting rewritten 50 million times, never ran it through, all the way up until we had to walk out. It’s just weird, where do you place it, and and we kept hammering it and cutting it down," he explained.
"But the whole intention of that joke was to make fun of the NFL. It’s like, the cool thing about the [Golden] Globes is we don’t need to do cutaways for ratings," Koy added.
"What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work," he shared, noting he bought his nieces Eras Tour tickets. "There’s no ill intent in that joke. The joke is about the NFL and how they keep using cutaways to [her]. And it’s an obvious reason why."
The 52-year-old continued: "I’m not saying anything that no one’s saying, and it’s obvious what that joke was. It’s about the NFL. It’s like out of everything that has happened this is the one you choose to go after."
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Additionally, he told the publication that those who accused him of sexism simply don’t “understand who I am as a person … Because if you’ve ever seen me, you’ll see just how much I praise and shine light on women, from my ex-wife to my mom.”
“What happened to society where we can’t even joke with each other anymore,” he stated.
Variety reported on Koy's stand up.
