Spare a thought for the celebrities who endured Jo Koy’s monologue in person

It’s not easy being a star. From the fans to the paparazzi, one has to be camera-ready at all times; life in the public’s eye can imprison a celebrity in a stone cell of ego, fame, and expectation. The money and accolades can be a salve, but not for all wounds. They have to grin and bear it. When that red light turns on and the lens begins to focus, Hollywood’s brightest must stretch those cheeks, expose their pearly whites, and withstand close to ten minutes of Jo Koy’s stand-up. Those watching at home send their prayers.

Sunday was an important night for the Golden Globes, the world’s most unnecessary and unkillable awards show. It wasn’t going well. Even if we ignore the announcer scaring the hell out of Elizabeth Debicki and producers not providing Kieran Culkin a spot to sit, audiences and attendees still had host Jo Koy to contend with. Many people learnied in real-time who Jo Koy is, and they decided they do not like him. The comedian, known chiefly for jokes about how wacky his family is, is a fixture of comedy clubs, delivering light, PG-13 comedy that leaves families and advertisers happy. But those at home were not into his jokes about Taylor Swift or his lack of preparation for the Globes.

The one plus side for the viewers was thatKoy’s monologue inadvertently spawned yet another Taylor Swift meme. Granted, she doesn’t have to do much these days. If she’s near a food item, whether it be a splurt of ranch or a flute of Kool-Aid, our meme queen will become a GIF. Since this now world-famous video is in response to Koy stumbling over his own damn punchline, we’ll allow it.

But at least those at home could find refuge online, unlike the stars who escaped the night sky to sit through a three-hour work dinner at the Beverly Hilton. Globes’ viewers chose to join the conversation on X, the somewhat usable website formerly known as Twitter, where they shared videos of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren barely surviving one of Koy’s groaners.

Reporting from the ground in Beverly Hills, The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan said Koy’s “ awful monologue is still getting panned in the ballroom” to his colleague Nicole Sperling’s tweet. She wrote, “Never seen an audience rebel against an emcee so quickly. One prominent director just couldn’t keep his opinion quiet. ‘They all showed up. They are all here and this is what they give us? This is a disaster.’”

Plenty of comedians were on hand for the ceremony, especially with the Globes’ new Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy. Ironically, they awarded their old controversial (for different reasons) host, Ricky Gervais. If they’re wooing to win him back, let us state for the record that transphobia will not make this show any better.