Veteran American broadcaster Howard Stern expressed his views on the challenges of hosting awards shows amid Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy’s controversial Golden Globes hosting gig.
Jo Koy found himself in hot water after his viral hosting performance at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, a job he acquired less than two weeks ago.
Koy’s hosting stint featured a range of “playful” jabs such as a comment on the length of Oppenheimer, and a quip about Barbie being based on “a plastic doll with big breasts”.
He also made a quip about American singer Taylor Swift, playfully comparing the Golden Globes to a National Football League (NFL) game with “fewer camera shots” of the pop star.
In his SiriusXM radio show, Stern highlighted the demanding nature of hosting awards shows and the pressure that comes with making jokes in an industry increasingly “sensitive to humor”.
“No wonder no one wants this gig — you can’t make fun of anybody anymore,” Stern remarked, shedding light on the difficulties faced by hosts who are given minimal time to prepare for high-profile events like the Golden Globes.
He drew comparisons to veteran hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, who typically have months to fine-tune their routines for such occasions.
“They work their asses off … you’re kind of doomed if you don’t have some time to put thought into it,” Stern said.
He used the incident to underscore his own reluctance to host awards shows, stating, “Standing up there and telling those jokes to a bunch of people who don’t want to be laughed at is the biggest bummer in the world.”
The radio host went on to critique Hollywood’s lack of humor about itself, suggesting that the industry, invested heavily in image management, may not be as receptive to being “goofed” on television.
“Hollywood has no sense of humor about itself … if you’re shelling out 25, 30 percent of your income on publicists and agents … you don’t want to be goofed on on television,” he explained.
Stern, nevertheless, pointed out how the legendary Hollywood star Robert de Niro was laughing at Jo Koy’s jokes.
“I was watching this guy (Jo Koy) do his thing last night and he was talking about Robert De Niro, and Robert De Niro was laughing hysterically like he was in the movie Cape Fear and you’re like, De Niro could have just been stone cold nasty, but he seemed to like it,” he said.
