Michael Che defends Jo Koy after Golden Globes, says comics should boycott hosting

Jo Koy’s turn at hosting the 2024 Golden Globes may have hit a sour note for audience members and many of his critics, but Michael Che is standing up to support his comedic colleague.

The “Saturday Night Live” head writer reacted on social media Monday to the blowback Koy experienced after Sunday’s ceremony.

“I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up,” he yelled during his opening monologue, which was reportedly called a “disaster” by one prominent director.

Che, a stand-up comedy veteran and longtime “Weekend Update” co-anchor, suggested comics should take a stand against hosting gigs.

“Comedians should boycott hosting award shows,” he rationalized in an Instagram post. “For one, its very difficult to make movie stars laugh. They’re way too self conscious to have a good time.

“Two, they don’t even want to laugh,” he continued. “They’re too busy thinking about their careers and their speeches and their ’cause’… They think they wanna be made fun of, but they actually don’t. They actually just want their trophy. And a nice photo.”

Koy, who is of Filipino descent, made history when he was announced on Dec. 21 as the host of the 2024 ceremony. The award-winning funnyman is only the second Asian host in Golden Globes history; Sandra Oh was first when she hosted the award show in 2019.

The decision to have him host follows the revamping of the longtime award shows in the wake of controversies and scandals that plagued the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who previously produced the awards.

Koy’s crack about the NFL’s infatuation with Taylor Swift also caused ire amongst her loyal fanbase after the pop superstar was caught on camera glaring at him expressionless from her table in the audience.

The viral commentary didn’t go unnoticed by Che, who also lamented how difficult the work is for comedians.

He wrote in another post: “You know what really bugs me at award shows? Whenever a standup host is struggling, they always cut to some actor making this face [rolling eye emoji] face, like really dude..? You can’t just “act” like the s–t was funny..?

“But then, when that same (expletive) actor loses their category, the camera cuts to them and they’re smiling and clapping! ohhhhh, so you caaaaaan fake happiness nowwwwwww…”

Che, 40, went on to say “Hollywood doesn’t respect comedians.”

“If they did, Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey would have about 3 Oscars each.. and for their comedy movies! Not the dramas they had to to do they could be taken seriously.”

He added, “So they expect us to host the Oscars but won’t even nominate us? (Expletive) that. Get a magician!”

Responding in the comment section, Che added: “And I don’t care who you think was good at it. My point is, it’s not fun for anybody. Trust me. I know everybody. We all hate it.”

The New York City native vowed to “never” host what he calls a “Hollywood award show” before lightheartedly quipping: “Unless I am asked.”

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