COMEDIAN AND ACTOR Jo Koy had a rough time hosting the newly revamped Golden Globes, with the host blaming his writing team for some of the eye-roll inducing jokes.

After a joke about the hit film Barbie fell flat during the opening segment, Koy reacted to the muted response by saying: “Some (jokes) I wrote, some others wrote… I got the gig 10 days ago; you want a perfect monologue?

“Shut up! You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”

Golden Globes host Jo Koy just went off-script after one of his jokes bombed: “I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”#GoldenGlobes2024 pic.twitter.com/K6DIDtdCes

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) January 8, 2024

The joke also drew somewhat withering responses from stars including Selana Gomez and Emma Stone.

Never invite Jo Koy to one of these again please. So, so awful. pic.twitter.com/Oqhpeiosp5

— Sethsfilmreviews (@sethsfilmreview) January 8, 2024

Koy then noted the presence of legendary actor Robert De Niro and said: “Your last performance has got to be your greatest performance ever. How did you get her pregnant at 80? CGI?”

In May, De Niro became a father at the age of 79.

The host then poked fun at Barry Keoghan’s turn in Saltburn.

At one point in the movie, Keoghan dances naked around a stately mansion to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’.

“Where is Barry Keoghan seated?” said host Koy.

After the camera panned to Keoghan, Koy added: “Where is your penis seated? That was the real star of the show.”

Barry Keoghan arrives at the 81st Golden Globe Awards Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Fellow Irish actor Cillian Murphy also got a shoutout in the opening monologue after Koy jokingly complained about the length of the movie Oppenheimer.

“Oppenheimer answered a life-long question that’s been on my mind for years: Yes, scientists do get laid… as long as they look like Cillian Murphy.”

‘Barbenheimer’ was the term used by some to capture the excitement that followed the simultaneous theatrical release of Oppenheimer and Barbie, but the cast of Barbie were less-than-impressed with Koy’s comparison of the two movies.

“Oppenheimer is based on a 724-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project and Barbie is based on a plastic-doll with big boobies,” said Koy.

"And BARBIE was based on a plastic doll with big boobs!"

The #Barbie crew weren't too thrilled by Jo Koy's jokes about their film. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Rp3ZvSIhhd

— Decider (@decider) January 8, 2024

Taylor Swift meanwhile had a rather disdainful response to one of Koy’s jokes at her expense.

Pop superstar Swift is currently in a relationship with Travis Kelce, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League (NFL).

“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL – on the Golden Globes, fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” joked host Jo Koy.

Swift responded by taking a sip of her drink.

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

Reboot

Last night was the 81st edition of the Golden Globes and it acted as something of a reboot for a brand that has spent the last few years in Tinseltown’s doghouse.

A 2021 Los Angeles Times expose revealed that the awards’ voting body – the Hollywood Foreign Press Association – had no Black members.

That revelation triggered the airing of a wide range of other long-simmering criticisms about the HFPA, including allegations of amateurism and corruption.

Earlier this year, the awards’ assets and trademarks were purchased and overhauled by a group of private investors including US billionaire and Chelsea FC co-owner Todd Boehly, and the HFPA was disbanded.

Hollywood-based former HFPA members have been banned from accepting gifts, and are now paid a salary to vote for their favourite films and shows.

More than 200 non-member (and unpaid) voters from 75 countries around the world have also been added to the Globes mix.

One of the United States’ biggest national television networks, CBS, also stepped in to become the new home of the Globes, after long-standing host NBC ended its deal to broadcast the event.

-With additional reporting from © AFP 2024