Here’s the Worst Part

Jo Koy probably won’t be back as Golden Globes host in 2025, but whatever his future may hold good luck hiring writers after Sunday’s staff was thrown under the Greyhound.

With the Golden Globes still recovering from scandal, Koy faced an uphill battle. The wounds are so fresh that some winners thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association; the HFPA was disbanded over a lack of diversity. The Globes didn’t even have a real ceremony in 2022, but returned to TV last year.

Koy’s opening monologue was weak. (IndieWire TV critic Ben Travers called it “a catastrophe;” our Proma Khosla went with “lukewarm.”) Even weaker were his multiple attempts to save face.

From the start, it was clear that Koy was out of his element. Comics who sell out theaters, like Koy, are used to performing for people who specifically paid to see them. This room was not that. As Koy (“Easter Sunday”) was quick to point out, he was also booked on short notice.

Koy, like most comics, is also not used to reading a teleprompter. It is a skill and can throw off stand-ups who usually have established sets committed to memory. (Very generally speaking, a comic at Koy’s level will work out a set for about a year, release it as a televised special, and start the cycle all over again with new material.)

Not surprisingly, Koy tripped over a word here and there as he navigated the circular stage and the intimidating room. Finding celebrities, cameras, and the prompter…