Golden Globes host Jo Koy woke up Monday morning feeling “bad” about his unpopular Taylor Swift joke at Sunday night’s awards show. The superstar musician’s response to the host went viral on social media, far outpacing news announcements about motion picture and television award winners.
Koy pointed out that the Golden Globes aired right after a football doubleheader, including a game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Swift’s current partner Travis Kelce’s team. According to The Wall Street Journal, the singer-songwriter has boosted NFL game viewership as fans tune in to catch a glimpse of their idol.
“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL?” Koy said. “At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”
The camera panned to an unamused Swift, who took a sip of her champagne instead of laughing at her own expense. Watch the clip from Variety here:
Taylor Swift takes a sip of her drink after Jo Koy’s joke about her at the #GoldenGlobes. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”
Taylor Swift takes a sip of her drink after Jo Koy's joke about her at the #GoldenGlobes.
"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift." pic.twitter.com/d2TDVcUGv5
— Variety (@Variety) January 8, 2024
The host never mentioned that Swift attended the Golden Globes because her concert film, The Eras Tour (2023), was nominated for the Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award.
Koy’s Taylor Swift bit followed a series of unpopular jokes about Barbie (2023). To the dismay of director Greta Gerwig, the stand-up comedian claimed the film was based on “a plastic doll with big boobies.”
The multiple digs at women quickly made him the most unpopular man on the internet. @HuffleBoy wrote:
“A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact” – Taylor Swift
“Did anyone in the room laugh or react to the unfunny joke,” @sheila35860659 added. “Not her job to laugh at a joke she didn’t think was funny to make sure a man’s ego is not hurt. Did anyone comment on Ryan Gosling with the same expression during the unfunny joke about Barbie? Let women live.”
Did anyone in the room laugh or react to the unfunny joke. Not her job to laugh at a joke she didn't think was funny to make sure a man's ego is not hurt. Did anyone comment on Ryan Gosling with the same expression during the unfunny joke about Barbie? Let women live
— sheila (@sheila35860659) January 8, 2024
@SarahBelles23 quoted one of Swift’s songs, “The Man:”
“I’m so sick of them coming at me again, ‘cause if I was a man then I’d be the man”. Barbie & Taylor Swift both grossed a billion dollars in 2023, & men still have the audacity to make misogynistic jokes towards anything successful if a woman made it. I’m so f**king tired.
“I’m so sick of them coming at me again, ‘cause if I was a man then I’d be the man”.
Barbie & Taylor Swift both grossed a billion dollars in 2023, & men still have the audacity to make misogynistic jokes towards anything successful if a woman made it. I’m so fucking tired. pic.twitter.com/B4nPdXW60W
— Sarah (Taylor’s Version) (@SarahBelles23) January 8, 2024
Even non-Swifties spoke out in the star’s defense.
“I have complicated feelings about Taylor Swift but I feel strongly that nobody should pretend to laugh at jokes that aren’t funny,” said @sonnerly.
i have complicated feelings about Taylor Swift but I feel strongly that nobody should pretend to laugh at jokes that aren’t funny https://t.co/S1Pnz25C7r
— chase (@sonnerly) January 8, 2024
@layneashley222 agreed:
I don’t watch award shows but I did watch the clip of Taylor Swift “getting offended” by an unfunny joke. All she did was sip her champagne. Women do not need to even pretend to find stupid jokes funny. She looked unimpressed, not offended
I don’t watch award shows but I did watch the clip of Taylor Swift “getting offended” by an unfunny joke. All she did was sip her champagne. Women do not need to even pretend to find stupid jokes funny. She looked unimpressed, not offended
— queen of hoops snark 👸🏻✡️🏀💖 (@layneashley222) January 8, 2024
In a post-show interview with Entertainment Tonight, Koy laughed and called Swift’s response “cute.”
But Koy changed his tune overnight. When GMA 3 asked the host if he “felt bad” about any of his Golden Globes jokes, he called his Swift line “flat.”
“It was a weird joke, I guess,” Koy said. “But it was more on the NFL…I was trying to make fun of the NFL using cutaways and how the Globes didn’t have to do that. So it was more of a jab toward the NFL. But it just didn’t come out that way.”
Still, the Golden Globes host wasn’t the focus of one viral moment between Swift and longtime friend Selena Gomez. The actress and musician claimed she and Swift weren’t gossiping about Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner after fans attempted to lipread a lively conversation between the two women.
Was Golden Globes host Joy Koy’s joke about Taylor Swift funny or inappropriate? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.