The 81st Golden Globes took an unexpected turn as seemingly irrelevant comedian Jo Koy, found himself in the uncharted territory of hosting, pushed into the limelight just two weeks before the ceremony. As Hollywood’s upper class entered the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Koy’s hosting performance-marked by rushed preparation and controversial remarks-created a buzz that lingered well beyond the awards night.

The 52-year-old Filipino-American comedian known for his conversational and story-based humor faced a difficult task as the host of the Golden Globes. Despite a pre-existing stand-up comedy career and Netflix specials, Koy’s transition into hosting proved to be a difficult departure from his usual comedy.

The curtain rose on Koy’s hosting journey with only ten days’ notice to the Golden Globes, forcing him to quickly and carelessly put together a team of writers. Unlike his predecessors who were given months of preparation, Koy described the experience as a “crash course in hosting,” setting the stage for what would become a night of unforeseen challenges and disappointment

The controversy began in just the very beginning of Koy’s opening monologue at the Golden Globes. Jabs at films like “Oppenheimer” and controversial remarks about Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” evoked strained smiles and raised eyebrows from the A-list audience. Koy’s comment that Barbie is “based on a plastic doll with big boobies” brought a storm of criticism for its perceived sexism and insensitivity.

Koy’s jokes were digested in bad taste and thick with sexism. His reduction of the iconic “Barbie” to physical attributes, coupled with a crude analogy about Taylor Swift’s presence at NFL games, drew intense criticism. Online viewers expressed disdain, branding his performance as “awful” and “unfunny.”

The criticism flooded the internet, some even marking Koy’s remarks as “perpetuating outdated and harmful stereotypes”. The assertion that Barbie’s significance lies solely in her physical appearance by Koy was seen as a missed opportunity to explore the complexities of the doll’s cultural impact over the decades, and the true message of Greta Gerwig’s cinematic masterpiece.

Commenters on the internet began making a number of valid points. The most commonly argued was that Barbie was created because of men like him: men who clearly didn’t watch or understand the movie, and see women as nothing more than bodies. 

Viewers also found it ironic that Koy made the point to bring down successful women with big names such as Taylor Swift and Margot Robbie, meanwhile the majority of viewers had to Google search his name while watching the Golden Globes.

As the backlash developed, Koy turned up with an apology as he attempted to control the criticism. His defensive acknowledgment of the short preparation time did little to quiet the discontent coming from what many thought of as an irresponsible and tone-deaf performance.

Despite the attempt at an apology, Koy is still facing backlash. Apart from the outwardly distasteful jokes, the Golden Globes performance is now being described as the “start and end of his career”, as all of the jokes he made were viewed as simply not funny.

Even if Koy had limited time to prepare his jokes, it would have been easy and outright logical to run them by a higher up. Quite frankly, he could have asked anyone for approval on his jokes. Any reasonable person would clearly be able to see the repugnance and underlying controversy of his jokes, especially given the more socially progressed world we live in today.

In response to Koy’s comments about “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig took a diplomatic stance, acknowledging the historical context while addressing the controversy. Her calculated response stood in contrast to the intensity surrounding Koy’s performance, reminding the world about the importance of tact when addressing sensitive topics. 

“Well, he’s not wrong. She’s the first doll that was mass-produced with breasts.”