Jo Koy has just weighed in on his ill-received Taylor Swift joke at last Sunday's Golden Globes, and he's upset it fell flat.
"I didn’t understand the Taylor [Swift] tiff," the comedian told the Los Angeles Times.
In case you missed it, Koy's joke went, "As you know, we came on after a football double header. The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift. I swear."
Koy explained that he wasn't trying to target Swift herself with the joke, telling the L.A. Times, "The whole intention of that joke was to make fun of the NFL. It’s like, the cool thing about the [Golden] Globes is we don’t need to do cutaways for ratings."
(Ironically, the broadcast did cut to Swift's reaction at this point, for which she was slated by critics.)
"What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work. I got nieces that I bought tickets for," Koy said.
"There’s no ill intent in that joke. The joke is about the NFL and how they keep using cutaways to [her]. And it’s an obvious reason why. I’m not saying anything that no one’s saying, and it’s obvious what that joke was. It’s about the NFL."
Whatever the intent of the joke, I don't think anyone read it as taking aim at the NFL rather than at Swift herself—especially since awards show hosts are tasked with lightly roasting the guests in attendance. Swift was there, and as far as I know, nobody in the NFL was nominated that night, so...
Koy also argued that Robert DeNiro had really enjoyed the joke about him being old. "I was like, man, this guy’s so much fun," he said. "And then I did that [Swift] joke and I’m like, what just happened?"
While I'm no expert on why some jokes land and others don't, my hypothesis here is that nobody is making fun of Robert DeNiro on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Swift is on the receiving end of jibes and criticism all day long, and she must be exhausted. I know I would be.
Thankfully, Simu Liu has pinky promised he won't be taking any swipes at Swift when he hosts the People's Choice Awards next month. Phew!
