Greta Gerwig Has a Surprising Response to Jo Koy’s Barbie Joke

This Barbie knows her film is Kenough. 

Days after Golden Globes host Jo Koy made a joke about Barbie during his opening monologue—saying it "is [based] on a plastic doll with big boobies"—the film's director Greta Gerwig shared her reaction. 

In fact, she sees where the comedian is coming from—sort of. 

"Well, he's not wrong," Greta noted on the Jan. 10 episode of BBC Radio 4's Today. "She's the first doll that was mass-produced with breasts, 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."

And while some social media users called Jo's jokes about the film—which took home the award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement "cheap," Greta chose a more reflective approach in her response.

"Barbie, by her very construction, has no character, no story," the 40-year-old continued. "She's there to be projected upon."

But the Oscar nominee also noted that the Mattel doll's expansive history was just as important to developing the movie.

"Barbie's been around since 1959," she explained. "She's been a villain, and she's been a hero, but it felt like, in a way, even though it's so seemingly superficial, that it was such a rich place to start."

And Greta knows how polarizing the doll can be, so she wasn't shocked by the discourse.

"What's sort of amazing about it is," she added, "it has inspired such a wide range of reactions."

"And in some ways, it's not surprising," she continued. "Barbie has always been sometimes ahead of culture, sometimes behind culture and she's always been a flashpoint for arguments."

Keep reading for more on the award-winning projects 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