This year’s Golden Globes marked the 81st award show, which premiered January 7. When it came to the entertainment, many viewers were not happy with the way things turned out. When fans heard that comedian Jo Koy would be hosting the show at 52 years old, many were happy. The actor was very excited when he found out and believed that this was “the moment to make [his] Filipino family proud.” While that may have been the goal, it’s clear that that was not the outcome.

     Helen Hoehen, Golden Globes President, was “thrilled to have [Koy] host the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards and bring his infectious energy and relatable humor to kick off Hollywood’s award season.” Hoehen even believed that Koy was “bringing his A-game.” Yet, in the middle of Koy’s opening monologue, the comedian said, “Yo, I got the gig ten days ago. You want a perfect monologue? Shut up…I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”

     The rest of the show consisted of Koy awkwardly trying to save himself by throwing everyone else under the bus. First, it was his writers, then it was the nominees. According to the Guardian, the host inappropriately commented on Saltburn star Barry Keoghan’s body during nude scenes, and joked that The Color Purple “is what happens to your butt when you take Ozempic.” He continued sinking the ship by telling the actors that the lengthy film, Oppenheimer just “needed another hour” and Barbie is “based on a plastic doll with big boobs.”

     To be clear, The Color Purple is a very serious story that chronicles the struggles that young African-American women faced in the early 1900’s, including domestic and sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, racism, sexism, and so much more. Barbie features a 331 word speech that was taken 30 to 50 times, according to speaker America Ferrera, describing the impossible standards placed on women. 

     So, instead of making the in-person and online viewers laugh to easily transition between presentations, Koy found every way to torture us with his unfunny punchlines that my niece could’ve told better. There is a difference between dark humor and insensitivity. 

     Later, during one of his stand-up shows, the comedian said, “it feels good to live in this country. We get to say what we want to say. Don’t be apologetic about it at all. Be able to…speak your mind.” Apparently, it was him speaking his mind or, as he would put it, his writers’ minds, that drew the crowd cold.