The 2024 Golden Globes took place on Jan. 7 and since then, there has been controversy surrounding the host and his remarks throughout the ceremony. Jo Koy, a stand-up comedian and actor, hosted the award show, but despite calling himself a comedian, his jokes didn’t seem humorous to the crowd and those watching at home.
While opening the ceremony, Koy said, “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the Manhattan Project. ‘Barbie’ is about a plastic doll with big boobies.”
The crowd’s dismayed reaction told viewers exactly how they felt about the comment. Reducing the entire meaning behind “Barbie” in that one statement was sexist towards all women and girls.
Yet again, women have to sit back and painfully smile as a man openly insults them and undermines them by comparing them to men. The entire purpose of “Barbie” was to portray how challenging it is to be a woman living among men, in a society set up for men’s benefit.
It’s pathetic that the host of the Golden Globes attempted to diminish “Barbie” to a sexualized body part. Despite “Barbie” winning the ceremony’s Cinematic and Box Office award, making over $1.4 billion and sparking an international conversation about womanhood, demeaning comments and stabs at women continue.
Further, comparing a movie that has predominantly male actors versus a predominantly female-casted film shows not just Koy’s view of women, but that he missed the entire point of “Barbie.” People on social media have argued that the movie was made because of people like Koy.
There were also comments made by Koy to tear down Taylor Swift, demonstrating Koy’s intention to shift the focus away from female success and instead further his punchline at their expense.
“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL?” asked Koy to the Golden Globe audience. “At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”
Swift was seen painfully smiling and taking a sip of her drink, clearly uncomfortable and not amused by the painful joke.
Ever since the award ceremony, Koy has been receiving copious amounts of hate, especially on TikTok. Many videos have been celebrity reactions to Koy’s so-called “jokes.” Popular reactions include Selena Gomez placing her head into her hands and Swift sipping her drink. Even when his jokes were targeted towards male celebrities at the event, few seemed to even laugh.
Koy’s comments were poor jokes that should have never been scripted, approved and said during the show.
“I kind of went in and did the whole writers thing,” Koy told Good Morning America. “We just had 10 days to try and write something for this monologue. It was a crash course and I feel bad, but I gotta still say that I loved what I did.”
He claimed that he loved the jokes, instead of taking accountability and apologizing for his wrong-doings. Not regretting the script, Koy tried to place most of the blame on other writers– just months after the Writers Guild of America strike.
Koy’s comments about “Barbie” and refusal to acknowledge their impact beg to ask, when will this sexism stop?
