Who is Jo Koy? Golden Globes host explained

Golden Globes host Jo Koy had an eventful show, so here’s everything you need to know about the comedian and presenter.

Jo Koy has hit the headlines thanks to his Golden Globes performance, during which he made jokes about everything from Barbie and Oppenheimer to Taylor Swift and Robert De Niro.

Many of the host’s jokes fell flat in the room, and were met with derision on social media. While it got worse when he repeatedly blamed his writers for his one-liners failing to raise a laugh.

So who is Jo Koy? The following is a brief biography, covering his career, and the comedy specials that helped land him one of the most coveted gigs in showbiz.

Who is Jo Koy? Golden Globes host explained

Born Joseph Glen Herbert to an American father and Filipino mother in 1971, ‘Jo Koy’ is a stage name based on a nickname given to him by his family.

Koy grew up in Washington and later Las Vegas, where he started performing comedy in coffee houses. From there he played regular gigs at Catch a Rising Star in the MGM Grand. Which led to TV work.

Jo Koy regularly appeared on clip shows like World’s Funniest Fails, and I Love the 70s, 80s, and 90s. As well as talk shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Joy Behar Show, and Last Call With Carson Daly.

Stand-up and Netflix specials

Jo Koy delivered a memorable set during Jamie Foxx Presents: Laffapalooza!, and was soon starring in his own comedy specials, first for Comedy Central, then for Netflix.

List of Jo Koy comedy specials:

• Don’t Make Him Angry (Comedy Central, 2009)
• Lights Out (Comedy Central, 2012)
• Live From Seattle (Netflix, 2017)
• Comin’ in Hot (Netflix, 2019)
• In His Elements (Netflix, 2020)
• Live from the LA Forum (Netflix, 2022)

Koy won Stand-Up Comedian Of The Year at the 2018 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. And has had success podcasting, through The Michael Yo and Jo Koy Show, and latterly The Koy Pond. According to his website, he’s also appeared on Chelsea Handler’s show Chelsea Lately more than 140 times, and the pair were in a relationship from 2021 to 2022.

Jo Koy made the move into movies more recently, appearing in the likes of Easter Sunday and Haunted Mansion, and lending his voice to animated films The Monkey King and Leo.

But he’s probably now best known for last night’s Golden Globes performance. Though if Jo Koy was one of the night’s losers, you can find details of the show’s winners here.