AT this point, legions of netizens shall have read about, and remarked on, popular stand-up comedian Jo Koy’s highly controversial hosting gig at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. Right after the event held on January 8, 2024, Jo Koy’s performance received a backlash of negative critiques from Hollywood celebrities, mostly claiming that Jo Koy, uhm, didn’t make them laugh.
It’s been nearly three weeks since so why am I writing about this episode that went viral for days on local and international news portals?
Well, for one, I (and my husband Adrian) have always personally admired Jo Koy for how he struggled, dealt with multiple challenges, and achieved fulfillment of his dream to be a standup comedian in the US entertainment circuit.
We both read his life story in his book “Jo Koy Mixed Plate,” which, as its title suggests, bared a little bit of this and a little bit of that…snippets from his persona and family life that his fans don’t get to see onstage. Indeed, Jo Koy’s entire journey has been a “mixed plate” of emotions, experiences, achievements, and embarrassing mistakes that could have derailed it, but Jo Koy was one persistent chap. He worked exceedingly hard from the time he was an 11-year-old boy coping with adolescence and life as an immigrant after he and his parents moved to the US.
In his book, Jokoy wrote:
“All the blood, sweat, and tears behind my journey from being a funny, mixed-up kid who didn’t know how he fit into this country to being the comedian—and man—I am today. Here is the path to my American dream, which was paved by a lot of failures, department store raffle tickets to win free color televisions, bad jokes, old VHS tapes full of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, a motorcycle my mom probably still hates, the only college final I aced [wasn’t math], and getting my first laugh onstage.”
My second reason for writing about this is, I consider Jo Koy as Filipino (well, Jo Koy is half-Filipino and calls himself an all-American half breed and proud of it!). He stayed close to his Filipino roots throughout those challenging years growing up in the US. His running jokes about his mom are very relatable; all too familiar is how he depicts her as a strong-willed Filipino mother raising a strong-willed son the Filipino way.
Reading about Jo Koy’s humble beginnings, his parents’ divorce, and other details of his life made me feel more deeply for him. I readily empathized with him through his many failures and frustrations, like when he had to beg his mom to get HBO.
Jo Koy has said this many times: “If you’re not in love with standup, you have to leave. I love being on stage; I love making people laugh.”
And so from grade school, Jo Koy convinced himself that he was destined to be a comedian. He never told anyone about his aspiration but he doggedly followed Robin, Billy, Whoopi, and other famous comedians, watched their acts, and started writing down their jokes as they told them onstage. He studied and soaked up all that standup, “watching over and over until Jay or Johnny or Louie or Ellen was nothing but a grainy, pixelated blur.” Jo Koy knew what he wanted to be and he stayed on track!
This leads me to my third reason for coming to Jo Koy’s defense and standing up for him: the man is a true professional and acted like one, both onstage and off. Despite knowing that other invited hosts had declined the offer, Jo Koy, who asserted that he got the script 10 days before the show, still bravely studied it, put in his own creative lines, and performed it the best way he knew how.
Everyone in show business will tell you that comedy can be the most difficult form of entertainment. It may look and sound like it’s a breeze but we all know comedians have to learn and master their lines and deliver them with perfect timing! Making people laugh is even more difficult during these politically correct times when highly sensitive issues compel people to be extremely cautious and discreet. Subjects like politics, racism, gender equality, inclusivity, etc. are just a few examples.
Jo Koy’s dream gig turned out to be incredibly challenging. The LA Times acknowledged that the comedian faced a tough crowd. Celebrities who commented in his favor, and even hundreds of supporters who came to his defense, agreed. They believed that because Jo Koy was a newcomer and not as famous as past Golden Globe hosts like Ricky Gervais, the audience simply decided they would not laugh.
The truth was, Jo Koy didn’t deserve the snub. He did not insult anyone; he was not rude. Style expert and podcaster Melissa Rivers affirmed this, saying that “the Golden Globes was supposed to be the most fun!”
Quite ironically, it was the audience that was rude, particularly one petty celebrity singer who couldn’t force a smile when the camera panned to catch her reaction. Someone actually remarked that it was like bullying the newbie host. “Hollywood people are just so entitled, self-absorbed, and overly sensitive. Comedians should boycott these award shows!” said an irate netizen.
Still, Jo Koy handled the job as a professional even as he knew fully well what could happen. He performed according to expectations and did as he was directed. It was the big career break he had wanted and so he was primed to do it!
Thank God for distinguished actors like Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro who were more decent and kind, and displayed courtesy and a sense of humor that the rest of the audience didn’t have.
Despite the negativity spawned by Jo Koy’s appearance at the Golden Globes, I am gratified by the comedians and other colleagues who stood up for him. Here’s what they said:
Whoopi Goldberg: “I understand how difficult hosting an awards show can be. These hosting gigs are brutal! If you don’t know the room, if you’ve not been in those rooms before, and you’re sort of thrust out there, it’s a hit or miss. You have to know the room.”
Steve Martin: “I tip my hat off to anyone who steps out on stage to host a live awards show. It’s a very difficult job and not for the squeamish. I know because I’m still throwing up from the last time I did it in 2010. So congratulations to Jo Koy who took on the toughest gig in show business, hit, missed, was light on his feet, and now has 20 minutes of new material for his standup.”
Michael V: “Jo Koy’s jokes were funny, direct, and pretty much self-explanatory. The last thing he should be doing is trying to explain it to people who purposely chose not to understand and appreciate them.”
Let me end this piece by saying that despite the unfavorable publicity Jo Koy received from the Hollywood press, I believe that he is a real winner! He was not only the first Filipino-American to host the Golden Globes; he stayed positive throughout the stressful aftermath. My personal take on this is, we Filipinos should have given Jo Koy more support and encouragement in the same manner we cheer our sports heroes whenever they break ground or swoon over our beauty queens, win or lose.
Jo Koy deserved as much. We should have rallied behind him and given him the love, kind words, and appreciation that he needed at that moment.
Jo Koy, it’s never too late. We are very proud of your performance at the Golden Globes and wish you more career-defining turns and more success in your profession.
Thank you from the country that you continue to honor with your hard work and passion for making people laugh.
We should all adopt Whoopi Goldberg’s worthwhile suggestion: “We have to support our national treasures called comedians.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premiere association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido PR and Communications. She was past Chairman of the IPRA Philippine chapter for two terms.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.