Whoopi Goldberg has defended Jo Koy after he received backlash for his 2024 Golden Globes hosting stint.

This year, fans were left seriously unimpressed by actor and comedian Jo Koy, who has been labeled "worst host ever" after his performance at the 81st annual ceremony.

The prestigious event requires a host who is to be brave enough to bust a few controversial but hilarious jokes at the expense of all the entertainers in the room, however, according to critics, the 52-year-old failed to do that.

The Guardian described the comic's hosting as a "bad gig for the ages" while The Atlantic stated that he "bombed" as "every joke failed to land, mostly because the punch lines were dated or obvious".

Jo Koy hosted the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards. Credit: Michael Kovac / Getty

The standup comic's awkward opening speech prompted nominees to send him death glares from across the room and viewers to cringe from the comfort of their homes.

Things got off to a rocky start after Koy opened the show with a monologue referencing the size of Saltburn star Barry Keoghan's penis before going on to mention the weight-loss drug Ozempic - the latter receiving a stony silence from Hollywood stars.

He then made a joke about Oppenheimer being based on a "721-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project," while Barbie is a flick about a "plastic doll with big boobs" - which fell flat with director Greta Gerwig, who looked particularly unimpressed.

"The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet — or what casting directors call character acting," he continued, which earned him a chorus of groans amongst a few chuckles.

He then defended himself by blaming other writers, stating: "Some I wrote, some other people wrote. Yes, I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. You’re kidding me right? Slow down, I wrote some of these and they are the ones you are laughing at."

Check out Koy's joke about Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes:

The host's poorly-received jokes didn’t stop there as Taylor Swift also looked unimpressed after Koy made her the subject of one of his quips.

Koy referenced the 'Karma' artist's displays of support for her NFL player beau, Travis Kelce, and pointed out that the Golden Globes clashes with a Kansas City Chiefs game.

"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift... there’s just more to go to her," he joked. Right on cue, the camera then panned to Swift, she could be seen with an icy expression before taking a sip from her drink.

Many viewers then took to social media to slam the comedian's hosting gig as one person on X stated that Koy was "the worst f****** host I’ve ever seen in an awards show in my life," while another added: "Jo Koy was so cringe tonight I can’t. The secondhand embarrassment was off the charts."

Goldberg defended Koy on The View:

Upon seeing all the criticism towards the comic, Whoopi Goldberg revealed on the latest episode of The View that she sympathizes with Koy as she has hosted the Academy Awards four times (1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002).

"If you don't know the room, if you've not been in these rooms before and you're sort of thrust out there. It's hit or miss," she said. "Now I love Jo Koy. He, to me, makes me just crazy because he's funny. I don't know whether it was the room."

"I don't know whether it was the jokes. I didn't get to see it," the Sister Act actress continued. "But I do know that he is as good as it gets when it comes to standups. That is not an easy game."

The EGOT winner poked fun at her own former hosting experiences, noting: "If you read any of the reviews of some the gigs that I've had, where they've just you know, whisked me into the cornfield to die on the vine. I mean, it's not an easy gig."

Goldberg's co-host, Sara Haines, chimed in by sharing that she loves Koy and was "nervous for him," while Alyssa Farah Griffin said that the comedian was "one [of her] favorite guests" on the talk show.

Griffin also speculated: "I think that he's such an inherently nice person that doing more of a roast is not natural for him," while it would be for someone like Ricky Gervais.

Koy's performance at the Golden Globe Awards was criticized by fans and critics. Credit: John Salangsang/Golden Globes 2024 / Getty

Nevertheless, Koy revealed to PEOPLE that despite the mixed and negative reviews, he would "love to" host again - only this time he wants to be given more time to prepare as he was announced as the Golden Globes host just two weeks ago.

"With five months, not nine days," he joked.

Featured image credit: Patrick McMullan / Getty

Whoopi Goldberg has defended Jo Koy after he received backlash for his 2024 Golden Globes hosting stint.

This year, fans were left seriously unimpressed by actor and comedian Jo Koy, who has been labeled "worst host ever" after his performance at the 81st annual ceremony.

The prestigious event requires a host who is to be brave enough to bust a few controversial but hilarious jokes at the expense of all the entertainers in the room, however, according to critics, the 52-year-old failed to do that.

The Guardian described the comic's hosting as a "bad gig for the ages" while The Atlantic stated that he "bombed" as "every joke failed to land, mostly because the punch lines were dated or obvious".

Jo Koy hosted the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards. Credit: Michael Kovac / Getty

The standup comic's awkward opening speech prompted nominees to send him death glares from across the room and viewers to cringe from the comfort of their homes.

Things got off to a rocky start after Koy opened the show with a monologue referencing the size of Saltburn star Barry Keoghan's penis before going on to mention the weight-loss drug Ozempic - the latter receiving a stony silence from Hollywood stars.

He then made a joke about Oppenheimer being based on a "721-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project," while Barbie is a flick about a "plastic doll with big boobs" - which fell flat with director Greta Gerwig, who looked particularly unimpressed.

"The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet — or what casting directors call character acting," he continued, which earned him a chorus of groans amongst a few chuckles.

He then defended himself by blaming other writers, stating: "Some I wrote, some other people wrote. Yes, I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. You’re kidding me right? Slow down, I wrote some of these and they are the ones you are laughing at."

Check out Koy's joke about Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes:

The host's poorly-received jokes didn’t stop there as Taylor Swift also looked unimpressed after Koy made her the subject of one of his quips.

Koy referenced the 'Karma' artist's displays of support for her NFL player beau, Travis Kelce, and pointed out that the Golden Globes clashes with a Kansas City Chiefs game.

"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift... there’s just more to go to her," he joked. Right on cue, the camera then panned to Swift, she could be seen with an icy expression before taking a sip from her drink.

Many viewers then took to social media to slam the comedian's hosting gig as one person on X stated that Koy was "the worst f****** host I’ve ever seen in an awards show in my life," while another added: "Jo Koy was so cringe tonight I can’t. The secondhand embarrassment was off the charts."

Goldberg defended Koy on The View:

Upon seeing all the criticism towards the comic, Whoopi Goldberg revealed on the latest episode of The View that she sympathizes with Koy as she has hosted the Academy Awards four times (1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002).

"If you don't know the room, if you've not been in these rooms before and you're sort of thrust out there. It's hit or miss," she said. "Now I love Jo Koy. He, to me, makes me just crazy because he's funny. I don't know whether it was the room."

"I don't know whether it was the jokes. I didn't get to see it," the Sister Act actress continued. "But I do know that he is as good as it gets when it comes to standups. That is not an easy game."

The EGOT winner poked fun at her own former hosting experiences, noting: "If you read any of the reviews of some the gigs that I've had, where they've just you know, whisked me into the cornfield to die on the vine. I mean, it's not an easy gig."

Goldberg's co-host, Sara Haines, chimed in by sharing that she loves Koy and was "nervous for him," while Alyssa Farah Griffin said that the comedian was "one [of her] favorite guests" on the talk show.

Griffin also speculated: "I think that he's such an inherently nice person that doing more of a roast is not natural for him," while it would be for someone like Ricky Gervais.

Koy's performance at the Golden Globe Awards was criticized by fans and critics. Credit: John Salangsang/Golden Globes 2024 / Getty

Nevertheless, Koy revealed to PEOPLE that despite the mixed and negative reviews, he would "love to" host again - only this time he wants to be given more time to prepare as he was announced as the Golden Globes host just two weeks ago.

"With five months, not nine days," he joked.

Featured image credit: Patrick McMullan / Getty