Jo Koy, a stand-up comedian, may consider himself “a storyteller,” but his performance as a comedian at the 2023 Golden Globes as the host was nothing short of derogatory and unpleasant. He starts the event with a nearly 11-minute monologue where his jokes were questionable and quite sexist. How Koy recognized the female artists discredited their commitment and revealed some of the societal issues in today’s media. 

  Koy makes complimentary comments about over a dozen men in the room while the women were seen nodding awkwardly and trying to find the humor in Koys numerous “jokes” poking fun at their successes. 

  “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on the 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project — and ‘Barbie’ is about a plastic doll with big boobies.” He follows this statement with one about having a hard time being sexually attracted to a “plastic doll” and awkwardly staring at Ryan Gosling. This completely discredits the work of these actors, especially Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig. Each worked on one of this year’s most impactful and memorable movies, “Barbie”, which was a movie about feminism and women’s empowerment. If Koy was unable to commemorate a movie about feminism without commenting on his attraction to women’s bodies, is he the host we want to be congratulating us on our successes? 

  Koy’s take on the Golden Globes was seen as poorly written and received mixed reviews amongst top Hollywood talent. He repeatedly mentions the lack of time he was given to write his script, attempting to soften the blow after his wildly offensive comments. Koy likely realized positive attention was unachievable, so he turned towards the negative attention and embraced it. 

  During the event, Koy said, “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.” The choice of Koy as this year’s Golden Globe host was ill-considered, his comedy style does not reflect what the majority of today’s media represents. His mediocre attempts to write an entertaining and engaging performance resulted in an uncomfortable and disappointed audience, in person and across the country. After a year of hard work and dedication to create representation for their audience, these artists deserve far more respect and recognition than Koy’s attitude could handle. Koy lacks an understanding of respect without comedy. 

  Koy also made playful comments towards our country’s beloved Taylor Swift. The Golden Globes aired on television following a football game this year. Koy contemptuously said “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift, I swear.”

  Backlash is common with artists like Swift, but to say something along the lines of Koy’s comment towards Swift at an award ceremony, meant to commemorate their successes, is incredibly inconsiderate. 

  In an attempt to tackle the backlash, Koy released some statements to Variety Magazine. He called the audience a “tough room” and during his first comedy set following his hosting gig, he referred to the event saying “Lots of marshmallows, man. They’re delicious, but goddamn, they’re soft.” Koy refuses to accept the fact that if his jokes were less sexist and belittling, the crowd may have enjoyed his set more. 

  Ultimately, Jo Koy’s performance as the 2023 Golden Globes host either did not come across in the way Koy intended or his views of society are overwhelmingly incorrect. His performance projected his insecurities towards women and his inability to be a considerate character and positively memorable host. Let’s hope the future host believes in feminism!