Madelyn Furstenau ‘26, Lyonlife.org Editor-in-Chief
A habit of men getting away with extremely misogynistic and offensive “jokes” has become all too common, and this kind of disrespect is extremely overlooked, easily dismissed, and often brushed off. An incident at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Jan. 7 ignited a controversy on social media, yet many are still unaware of the situation. Those who witnessed the event and spoke up about the weight of the issue received backlash from individuals who did not see a problem with Koy’s monologue content. Why must women put up with constant degrading remarks from unamusing men with superiority complexes and hyperinflated egos?
This year, ‘up-and-coming’ comedian Jo Koy hosted the Golden Globes. A host’s job has always been to connect with their audience, provide funny commentary, and give credit where it is due. Koy took his own unique approach by “jokingly” insulting the Barbie movie, the first-ever recipient of the Golden Globe award for cinematic and box office achievements. Despite his obvious effort to land the punch line, the jokes were met with instant silence from the audience and made almost everyone in attendance visibly uncomfortable. Barbie, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, beautifully portrays the impossibility of being a woman today. The film stresses the difficulties and disrespect posed by males toward females. In the movie, Barbie ventures out of her perfect world and into reality, where she realizes that men and women are not at all equal in society. In one scene, she is even forced back into her box by the Mattel board of executives—entirely made up of men—solely to prevent her from exposure to the patriarchy. They wanted Barbie to remain the “perfect woman”: silenced and oblivious with a beautiful appearance. After entering the real world, Barbie struggles with finding her purpose in a world comprised of judgment, prescribed gender roles, and little progress toward gender equality. Most ironically, the eye-opening film was then mocked by Koy at an event catering to its celebration.
During the award ceremony, Koy made an insensitive comment about the Barbie movie that shocked attendees and made everyone question whether or not he had even seen the movie. He compared Barbie—again, a film about female empowerment—to Oppenheimer, also released in 2023, and a candidate for the same award as Barbie. Koy said, “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 joke received a few awkward and nervous chuckles at best, covered up by what sounded a lot like a Hollywood laugh track. Female guests’ reactions were nothing short of pure disgust and disappointment. The camera immediately panned over to Gerwig and Robbie, both who donned looks of defeat and disappointment. There were also a fair amount of outraged reactions from men in the crowd, including Gosling, who shot Koy a look of confusion at the audacity to say such a thing, especially in that context. Although most would agree that the general message of Barbie was relatively simple to comprehend, it seemed to have completely flown over Koy’s head. Whether or not it was a joke, Koy completely diminished the pride that both Gerwig and the Barbie cast felt for a film that deserved every ounce of praise it received; however, due to his career as a stand-up comic, many people have felt the need to jump to his defense.
The clips from the Golden Globes were met with an uproar on social media, with both sides defending their perspective. While many recognize the utter disrespect from Koy, others say that society has grown ‘soft.’ In a TikTok post with the caption “Jo Koy’s sexist joke was literally the reason the Barbie movie was made, can’t wait for his apology tomorrow,” thousands of people agreed with the creator. In a sea of women supporting this, however, there are still hundreds of comments from men dismissing their concerns. On this post, an anonymous user commented, “Lol women, you don’t have to be this fragile.”
While women are belittled for feeling offended, an insulted man is almost always seen as a victim. Male comedians can walk away from saying things like this, without punishment, because ‘it is just a joke,’ or ‘women are too sensitive.’ Let me remind you, Koy made this joke about a film in which one of America Ferrera’s lines is, “You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining.” Do these shallow comments not miss the point of the movie? Do jokes have to be offensive in order to get a laugh? Can we find a way to be respectful and funny at the same time?
Social media is not the only place where these concerns surfaced: a group of female reporters for Fox 9 News commented on the situation. One of them even said, “He was dreadful. I hope the guy never gets the job again.” However, for every person who realizes the insensitivity of Koy’s humor, there are about 100 others, both male and female, who think that the audience should have been more amused than offended. Many have even applauded Koy’s effort for accepting the position with such short notice and showing enthusiasm to do it. Koy, a Filipino individual, said that he was thrilled for the opportunity to represent the Asian community. Unfortunately, though he desperately wanted to build up his own community, he felt the need to tear another one down in the process. There will be no strides toward equality if these situations reoccur.
If the events at the Golden Globes offended you, that is perfectly valid. Regardless of what is said in Koy’s defense on social media, feelings of hurt, anger, and disgust are normal and have been widely held and shared. If you do not see anything wrong with Koy’s comments, I encourage you to think deeply about his words and reconsider whether you believe it was appropriate, a joke, or not. Some have touched on the difficulty of being a TV host in modern-day society, as you must be extremely careful about what you say, yet if these surface-level jokes were the best Koy could come up with, I say, pick a different host next time.
Lyon Life 