Jo Koy “didn’t understand” the poor response to his Taylor Swift joke at the Golden Globe Awards.
The ‘Easter Sunday’ star has faced criticism for his hosting stint at last weekend’s ceremony, with several of the jokes in his opening monologue falling flat with the audience, and he admitted he was particularly baffled when people thought he was mocking the ‘Anti-Hero’ hitmaker with a gag about how often the NFL broadcasts of her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team Kansas City Chiefs turn the cameras on her in the crowd.
Jo quipped: “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”
The camera then panned to the ‘Cruel Summer’ singer, who made a face and sipped her champagne.
Following the backlash, Jo insisted he “supports” Taylor and the true target of the line should have been “obvious”.
He told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: “I didn’t understand the Taylor [Swift] tiff…
“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.
” What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work. I got nieces that I bought tickets for.
“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. It’s like out of everything that has happened this is the one you choose to go after.”
Jo also faced a backlash for describing ‘Barbie’ as a movie based on “a plastic doll with big boobies”, and he insisted his critics “don’t understand” who he really is.
He said: “Then just the reaction to the Barbie joke. The things that are being said, it’s just like, man, I don’t think you understand who I am as a person, you know what I mean? Because if you’ve ever seen me, you’ll see just how much I praise and shine light on women, from my ex-wife to my mom.
“My whole goal is to try and change that type of narrative and just that look of being part of a divorced family. I’m telling a joke — what happened to society where we can’t even joke with each other anymore.
“I bought the movie. I supported the movie. Yes, that’s the story that that doll needed. And I’m glad because now there’s people that look like my mom that can support that.”
The 52-year-old comic blamed his less successful gags on his writing team during the opening monologue, and he has admitted that was a “rookie move” and he actually thought they were “amazing”.
He said: “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…
“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.”
