Jo Koy says he was ‘just supporting’ Taylor Swift with Golden Globes joke

Jo Koy has spoken out since he received criticism over the Taylor Swift joke he made as host at the Golden Globes this year.

The comedian presented the glitzy award ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday night (January 7) as the biggest films and TV shows of the past year were celebrated.

But viewers and audience members were left with second-hand embarrassment after the 52-year-old joked about Swift attending NFL games to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.

The pop star's attendance at the matches has sparked widespread media attention, particularly with the NFL itself where the football TV coverage often pans to Swift in the stands.

"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL - on the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift," Koy joked.

Jo Koy (left) hosted the 2024 Golden Globes where he cracked a joke about Taylor Swift (right).CBS

"I swear, there’s just more to go to."

The camera then panned to Swift who was sat in the audience and looked less than amused at the joke as she pursed her lips and sipped a glass of champagne.

After quickly noticing the joke didn't have theintended effect, Koy added:“Sorry about that."

Since the event, Koy has spoken to media outlets about the backlash he's received over the gag and insisted he supports the pop star and that the joke was aimed more at the NFL.

"I didn’t understand the Taylor [Swift] tiff," the comedian admitted to the Los Angeles Times.

"What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work. I got nieces that I bought tickets for. There’s no ill intent in that joke."

"It’s like, the cool thing about the [Golden] Globes is we don’t need to do cutaways for ratings," he added.

Meanwhile, he also acknowledged during an appearance on ‘GMA3: What You Need to Know,' that the joke fell "a little flat."

“I think it was when the Taylor [Swift] one was just a little flat…It was a weird joke, I guess. But it was more on the NFL…I was trying to make fun of the NFL using cutaways and how the Globes didn’t have to do that," he explained.

"So it was more of a jab toward the NFL. But it just didn’t come out that way.”

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