By Mina Ko ‘25, Arts and Entertainment Editor

“Oppenheimer”’s Cillian Murphy, Golden Globes Host Jo Koy, and “Barbie”’s Margot Robbie, Images Courtesy of CBS and Rich Polk via Getty

More than 9 million Americans tuned in for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards on January 7, 2024. Host and comedian Jo Koy took the stand for his monologue and was met with thunderous applause. “Welcome to the 81st Annual Golden Globes. I’m your host, Jo Koy!” Three minutes later, Koy was left facing an unimpressed audience — the room deafeningly silent.

The 2024 Golden Globes marked a fresh start for Hollywood as it recovered from writer strikes and had its first solo Asian host in Golden Globes history. Before the show, Koy shared the significance of this milestone with “Vanity Fair,” stating that he knows “what this means to a lot of people, especially the younger kids that are indirectly being inspired by this. We learn from our mistakes. The Golden Globes, it’s moving forward too … we’re moving forward, and in the right direction.” But after Koy made a series of controversial jokes during his monologue about stars like Margot Robbie and Barry Keoghan, his statement feels unfortunately ironic.

Several of Koy’s bits poked fun at 2023’s highest grossing film, “Barbie.” One particularly controversial joke was when Koy quipped that “Oppenheimer” was “based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and ‘Barbie’ is on a plastic doll with big boobies!” The camera panned to the disappointed expressions on the faces of “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig and Canadian actor Ryan Gosling who played Ken. “Barbie” is widely impactful to many women across the globe and discusses female empowerment and self-discovery in a world characterized by patriarchy. Koy, however, reduced the film to physicality, degrading its central sentiment that women are more than their bodies. 

Comedians tread a fine line between humor and disrespect. When done right, comedy can bring people together and even enact social change. However, moments like the 2024 Golden Globes highlight the trickiness of achieving this balance. Recognizing this, comedian Kevin Hart stated, “I think Jo Koy is an amazing comedian … that’s a tough room.” In addition, actress and comedian Tina Fey showed her support for Koy, explaining that “you don’t get to practice it. You’re doing your jokes in a vacuum; you don’t get a dress rehearsal.” 

It’s also important to keep in mind that the job of award show hosts is to poke fun at their attendees. However, Jasper Heitin ‘25, president of NA’s Film Club, says that he thinks “where [Koy] really goes wrong is when he blames his writers on stage.” When Koy noticed that the audience was not receiving his monologue well, he joked that he “got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?… I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.” While Heitin acknowledges the short time frame Koy claims that he had to write his speech, he notes, “it’s really egregious to go on stage and blame the people that got you there  — especially given the fact that they went on strike this year to make stuff happen.” 

After Koy’s statements, SNL’s Michael Che took to Instagram to state that comedians “should boycott hosting award shows” because stars are “way too self conscious to have a good time.” However, critics to Che’s statements drew a line between being “self-conscious” and feeling blatantly disrespected. An online social media user stated that “making negative jokes during a ceremony that is supposed to honor and celebrate everyone there just kills the vibe.” Another social media user pointed out that the actors’ silence in response to Koy’s jokes indicated society’s progress in recognizing sexism in the entertainment industry, and was a step in the right direction.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are films that have been put head-to-head since their releases — even Newark Academy had a “Barbenheimer” spirit day theme in October. But perhaps we should move towards a discourse that can celebrate “Oppenheimer’s” seriousness alongside “Barbie’s” magical playfulness. As the entertainment industry develops, there is hope that future hosts will see the Golden Globes as a lesson and choose their words with more intention, falling on the right side of the line.