by Hannah Mushahwar ‘24

The 81st annual Golden Globes commenced on January 7 with stand-up comedian Jo Koy stepping on stage in front of millions. When he was officially announced as the host of the Golden Globes, Koy said in a statement that he was “so excited” to be hosting one of the entertainment industry’s biggest shows. The list of attendees gathered for a night of awards and laughter but as he took the stage, his opening monologue left the stars in the room and audiences on social media disappointed.

Koy started his opening monologue referencing Hollywood’s Ozempic craze and weaving in jokes about films up for nomination. With Oppenheimer and Barbie earning huge box office hits in 2023, he joked, “Oppenheimer is based on a 721 page Pulitzer prize winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” the latter of which was met with unamused stares from Margot Robbie and the film’s director Greta Gerwig. After watching a movie that highlighted the struggles of women while also celebrating girlhood, listening to Koy reduce the production to a sexist, low-leveled “joke” on national television is simply offensive, a sentiment shared by many women who tuned in.