Jo Koy has apologised to the writers he worked with on his Golden Globes monologue after being accused of throwing them under the bus.
The Filipino American comic has been roasted for his first-time performance as host of the ceremony, which aired on Sunday (7 January).
When some of his jokes failed to land, Koy resorted to blaming his writers, telling the crowd of A-listers: “I wrote some of these [jokes], and they're the ones you're laughing at!”
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Koy reflected on his troubled awards show debut, calling the joke at his writers’ expenses a “rookie move”.
“I love my writers. I love all three of them and I shouted them out. And I told them like that was a moment right there where I’m just grasping. I love them and I can’t stop talking about them in every interview,” he said.
“They busted their ass, man. There’s a lot of greats that make rookie moves. That was a rookie move. Those writers are dope and that was not my intention at all. They were amazing, they had my back and I need to make sure I fix that and I will, I always will.”
Jo Koy attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards— (Getty Images)
Koy continued to blame the tight, two-week turnaround he was given after accepting the gig for his lacklustre performance.
“It’s so crazy because the day before, we were all sitting right here, it was the first time we all met in person, the day before we had to turn in that monologue. One time, that’s all we had. It was the most insane thing.”
He added that he also did not have the opportunity to test any of the material on a live audience. “I was running it through [our group], of course we’re gonna laugh at it,” he said.
“It’s honest feedback for us but I didn’t get to run it onstage anywhere. I didn’t get to go anywhere where I could just sneak these things in and that’s what this is all about, it’s working things out. So given the circumstances, that’s what I had to go through and that’s fine.”
One gag in particular that fell flat was made at Taylor Swift’s expense. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” the host said, referencing the singer’s highly publicised romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce.
As the camera switched to a close-up of Swift, she could be seen pursing her lips before taking a sip from her drink, a decidedly icy expression on her face.
Steve Martin was among those to defend Koy, however, saying on Threads: “I tip my hat to anyone who steps out on stage to host a live awards show.”
“So, Congratulations to Jo Koy,” he added, “who took on the toughest gig in show business, hit, missed, was light on his feet, and now has twenty minutes of new material for his stand up!”
