Chelsea Handler Makes Apparent Jab at Ex Jo Koy's Golden Globes Monologue During Critics Choice Awards

The 2024 Critics Choice Awards host dated Koy from 2021 to 2022

Chelsea Handler seemingly poked fun at her ex Jo Koy’s recent hosting performance at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards.

While hosting the 2024 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Handler appeared to recycle one of Koy's Golden Globes monologue jokes after he received backlash for the concept. But she began with a cheeky nod to two legacy actors' looks in their later years.

"I don't know which one of you is hotter, you guys are total smoke shows," she said, referring to Harrison Ford and Robert De Niro. Later she added, "Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn't here tonight, but that's not going to stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball."

It was then that Handler joked, "Thank you for laughing at that. My writer's wrote it." Handler received an extended applause from the crowd, many of whom were in attendance at last weekend's Golden Globes.

During his own hosting gig, Koy used the line to defend calling the Barbie movie a film about a "plastic doll with big boobies" when the joke fell flat among the crowd. "Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago," he said on stage. "You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. Slow down. I wrote some of these and they're the ones you're laughing at."

Koy was also publicly grilled for joking the awards show had “fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift” than the NFL, which earned him a non-reaction from the singer. The comedian told PEOPLE later that night that he’d “love to” try hosting again with more preparation time.

Related: Critics Choice Awards 2024 Winners: See the Full List (Updating Live)

Days later, Koy called it a "rookie move" to blame his three writers for the joke. "Those writers are dope, and that was not my intention at all," the comedian told the Los Angeles Times, "They were amazing, they had my back, and I need to make sure I fix that, and I will, I always will."

Handler, 48, dated this year’s Golden Globes host from August 2021 to July 2022. The pair were introduced by mutual friend Jon Lovitz in the early 2000s. Between 2007 and 2014, Koy, 52, appeared on more than 100 episodes of Handler’s late-night show Chelsea Lately.

After reconnecting at the end of 2020, they made their relationship official the following year in August. The couple went on to become comedy’s 'It' couple for the next 11 months, making public appearances at the Grammys and on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Handler even said in a 202 Instagram post that "Jo has renewed my faith in men."

Before they split, Koy directed his then-girlfriend’s Chelsea Handler: Revolution Netflix special, which premiered in December 2022.

In July 2022, Handler posted a video on Instagram intended for their upcoming one-year anniversary captioned, “It is with a heavy heart to announce that we have decided together that it is best for us to take a break from our relationship right now.”

Handler stated in January 2023 on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she would no longer comment on their split. “I’m not promoting a breakup from six months ago,” she said.

Related: Jo Koy Says He's 'Single' After Chelsea Handler Breakup: 'Our Split Was Beautiful' (Exclusive)

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