On January 7, 2024, the 81st Golden Globes were held in California. The star-studded red carpet hailed celebrities from a range of blockbuster hits, including Taylor Swift for her sensational The Eras Tour concern film and Ryan Gosling, who most recently started as Ken in Greta Gerwig's box-office smash Barbie. At first glance, these two celebrities don't have much in common... That is until comedian Jo Koy took the stage for the opening skit.
While Koy earned plenty of backlash for his self-admittedly lackluster monologue, the real drama started when he jabbed at America's sweetheart, Taylor Swift. “As you know, we came on after a football doubleheader,” Koy joked during the skit. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift, I swear.”
The cameras immediately cut to the international popstar. Swift was unamused. She pursed her lips slightly and took a long sip of her drink. Needless to say, she didn't think the joke was funny, but it was far from an overreaction. Koy admitted after the fact that his joke fell "a little flat" but couldn't understand why she reacted in such a "stern" manner. If anything, his opinion was the overreaction!
"I didn’t understand the Taylor [Swift] tiff," Koy told The Los Angeles Times. "I’m not saying anything that no one’s saying, and it’s obvious what that joke was. It’s about the NFL." He even asserted that he should get an A for the performance for simply having the courage to take the stage! Now, we won't deny that a room full of A-Listers and thousands of people watching at home is a tough crowd. However, what we don't understand is why he specifically targeted Swift's reaction when plenty of other celebrities weren't impressed either.
Swift is a billionaire popstar who has no obligation to laugh at a joke that plays on a tired, misogynistic assumption that dating Travis Kelce is somehow ruining the NFL. In fact, her reaction was barely a "reaction" at all. Yet Koy and other comedians lambast her for being "pre-offended" and overreacting. For instance, Dana Carvey and David Spade shared their opinions on the "Fly on the Wall" podcast, saying, "It’s almost like she was pre-offended." They went on to suggest that Swift could have "made a face” as if to say, “Look at me! I’m so cute. They keep showing me" instead of her Ice Queen act. Yawn!
We can't count the number of times men have policed women's reactions, telling them to "smile more" or "chill out" because it's "just a joke!" They praised Meryl Streep for laughing at some jokes, saying she "went along with the joke and adjust goofed around." So, let's get this straight. It's okay when a woman reacts in the way men want her to, but if she barely acknowledges a bad joke, suddenly she's the one in the wrong?
Let's compare this to another incident during the opening monologue. Jo Koy had already started on a bad foot, poking fun at Barbie, saying, "Barbie is on a plastic doll with big [knockers]." He scored measly laughter from around the room, but one look at Ryan Gosling, and he wasn't impressed. Are comedians and fans taking to interviews and podcasts to criticize Gosling for his bland reaction to a joke? Nope. And we have a theory as to why.
Back in 2019, Taylor Swift herself commented on this phenomenon, telling CBS Sunday Morning reporter Tracy Smith the following: “There’s a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry right? A man does something; it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing; it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.” We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
So we'll end with this. Greta Gerwig, the director of Barbie, commented on Koy's jab after the fact but refused to rise to the bait: “Well, [Koy's] not wrong. [Barbie's] the first doll that was mass-produced with [a big chest], so he was right on. And you know, I think that so much of the project of the movie was unlikely because it is about a plastic doll.” Gerwig's response was incredibly kind and represented what the film is all about in the first place: that women have plenty to offer the world no matter what they look like. Perhaps comedians should remember that theme for future events. Make all the jokes you want, but don't get upset when people don't find them funny.
