Steve Martin Defends Jo Koy Amid Golden Globes Hosting Gig Criticism

There's only support in this building. 

Steve Martin offered some kind words for Jo Koy following the divided response to comedian's jokes during the 2024 Golden Globes. 

"I tip my hat to anyone who steps out on stage to host a live awards show," the 78-year-old wrote on Threads Jan. 9. "It's a very difficult job and not for the squeamish. I know because I'm still throwing up from the last time I did it in 2010."

Steve, who last took the stage alongside Alec Baldwin at the 82nd Academy Awards 14 years ago, had a softer approach than others regarding his thoughts on the stand-up comedian's routine. 

"So, Congratulations to Jo Koy," he continued, "who took on the toughest gig in show business, hit, missed, was light on his feet, and now has twenty minutes of new material for his stand up!"

And the Only Murders in the Building star, who was nominated for best television male actor in a musical/comedy series but skipped out on the ceremony, wasn't the only person to defend Jo.

In fact, another former Oscars host, Whoopi Goldberg noted just how difficult it is to take on the role.

"Hosting gigs are just brutal," she explained on the Jan. 9 episode of The View. "If you've not been in these rooms before, and you're sort of thrust out there, it's hit or miss."

Jo, who has previously spoken about being asked to host just a few weeks before the Jan. 7 ceremony, has faced backlash over several of his jokes, with many online expressing frustration at him for taking shots at women and women-led projects during his routine. 

The 52-year-old, who first praised Oppenheimer for being based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, noted, "Barbie is [based] on a plastic doll with big boobies."

As the night went on, many users on social media were quick to call the comedian's jokes "reductive" and "cheap."

He also joked that the Golden Globes would have fewer cutaways to Taylor Swift than the NFL—referencing her attendance at boyfriend Travis Kelce's games—to which she appeared unamused, pointedly sipping her drink.

But Jo knows that some—including those in the room—didn't find his routine funny, admitting on GMA3 Jan. 8 his joke about the Grammy winner fell "a little flat." 

And while he's taking the experience in stride, she shared the criticism does hurt a bit.

"I had fun. You know, it was a moment that I'll always remember," The Monkey King actor noted. "It's a tough room. It was a hard job, I'm not going to lie." 

"I'd be lying if [I said] it doesn't hurt," he continued. "I hit a moment there where I was like, 'Ah.' Hosting is just a tough gig. Yes, I'm a stand-up comic but that hosting position it's a different style. I kind of went in and did the writer's thing. We had 10 days to write this monologue. It was a crash course."

Keep reading to see the winners from the 2024 Golden Globes.

Anatomy of a Fall
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest

Air
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
WINNER: Poor Things

Annette Bening, Nyad
Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Greta Lee, Past Lives
WINNER: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan, Saltburn
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
WINNER: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon

Alma Pöysti, Fallen Leaves
WINNER: Emma Stone, Poor Things
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Natalie Portman, May December

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Joaquin Phoenix, Beau Is Afraid
Matt Damon, Air
Nicolas Cage, Dream Scenario
WINNER: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
WINNER: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Julianne Moore, May December
Rosamund, Pike, Saltburn

Charles Melton, May December
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Willem Dafoe, Poor Things

1923
The Crown
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
WINNER: Succession

Abbott Elementary
Barry
WINNER: The Bear
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso

All the Light We Cannot See
WINNER: Beef
Daisy Jones & The Six
Fargo
Fellow Travelers
Lessons in Chemistry 

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Emma Stone, The Curse
Helen Mirren, 1923
Imelda Staunton, The Crown
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
WINNER: Sarah Snook, Succession

Brian Cox, Succession
Dominic West, The Crown
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Jeremy Strong, Succession
WINNER: Kieran Culkin, Succession
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us

WINNER: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Elle Fanning, The Great
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building

Bill Hader, Barry
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

WINNER: Ali Wong, Beef
Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Olsen, Love & Death
Juno Temple, Fargo
Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers
Riley Keough, Daisy Jones & The Six

David Oyelowo, Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Jon Hamm, Fargo
Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & The Six
WINNER: Steven Yeun, Beef 
Woody Harrelson, White House Plumbers

Abby Elliott, The Bear
Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets
WINNER: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
J. Smith-Cameron, Succession
Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building

Alan Ruck, Succession
Alexander Skarsgård, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
WINNER: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
James Marsden, Jury Duty