Jo Koy

Joseph Glenn Herbert (born June 2, 1971 ), known professionally as Jo Koy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a frequent panelist on E!'s late night show Chelsea Lately, and he has since had a total of six comedy specials released by Comedy Central and Netflix. In 2024, Koy hosted the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

Early life and education Koy was born to an American father, John C. Herbert, who was in the United States Air Force stationed in Japan when he married Koy's Filipina mother, Josie Harrison. His stepfather, Fredrick Harrison, also helped raise him. It was said during his stand-up routine in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 22, 2019, that back in 1989 he was talking to his cousin about making a stage name when his aunt called him to come to dinner, shouting "Jo Ko, eat!" (Ko means "my" in Tagalog, so Jo Ko means "my Jo"), which he misheard as "Koy," and, deciding that it was a good name, has used it ever since.

Career

In 2019, Augustus Welby, writing for the Beat Magazine in Melbourne, described Koy as having performed comedy for 30 years. Soon then moved to open mic nights, before landing regular gigs.

The regular appearances included Catch a Rising Star at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. On July 28, 2022, Koy, alongside film producer Dan Lin appeared in the Rise for Comedy festival, where they raised a $75,000 donation to the nonprofit Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA).

Koy was a regular guest on the podcast, The Adam Carolla Show.

2023 Golden Globe Awards On December 21, 2023, Koy was announced as host of the 81st Golden Globe Awards. Koy's monologue as host of the 81st Golden Globe Awards was met with criticism from viewers and critics. Chelsey Sanchez of Bazaar described his monologue as "awkward" and "distasteful". Shirley Li of The Atlantic wrote, "practically every joke failed to land, mostly because the punchlines were dated or obvious". Varietys television critic Alison Herman panned Koy as "woefully unqualified" to be an awards show host. Koy was met with criticism for putting blame on his writers during the monologue, coming after a lengthy 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Justin Curto of Vulture noted, that when some of his jokes fell flat, Koy "immediately threw his writers under the bus.... He yelled. 'Yo, shut up. You're kidding me, right. Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they're the ones you're laughing at.'"

Hershal Pandya of Vulture wrote "Comedians have tanked at the Golden Globes before but none quite as spectacularly as Koy." Marlow Stern of Rolling Stone noted that many of Koy's jokes drew "groans" and "boos" from the audience. Among the barbs that drew the most ire were sexist jokes involving the Barbie movie and Taylor Swift, as well as uncomfortable jokes directed at Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro. Nicole Sperling of The New York Times, who was in the audience that night, wrote, "Never seen an audience rebel against an emcee so quickly" and cited a prominent director describing Koy as a "disaster". Viewers online noted stunned reactions from the crowd from people such as Selena Gomez, Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.

Koy responded to the criticism in an interview with Good Morning America, admitting, "I'd be lying if I said the backlash didn't hurt", but also admitted, "I had fun. You know, it was a moment that I'll always remember. 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. I feel bad, but I got to still say I loved what I did." Fellow comedians such as Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and Kevin Hart, as well as radio host Howard Stern, expressed sympathy towards Koy, with many of them arguing that the job of a comedian is not always easy, especially when hosting an awards show.

Influences Koy has named Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, In 2022, Blogtalk with MJ Racadio named him one of the "75 Most Influential Filipino-Americans".

Personal life Koy was previously married to Filipino-American singer Angie King. Koy has a son, Joseph Jr., from his marriage to King, born at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, in April 2003.

For a time, around the production of his Comin' in Hot special, Koy was described as considering Hawaii as "a second home".

Koy and Chelsea Handler were in a relationship between 2021 and 2022.

As of January 2023, Koy was described as being a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 2023, Koy got his arm tattooed by mambabatok Wilma "Ate Wamz" Gaspili at Igorot's Charm Cafe across Baguio Botanical Garden.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Virginia Chester Blind 2018 Wake. Peter Lewis 2020 Anastasia: Once Upon a Time Vladimir Lenin 2022 Easter Sunday Joe Valencia 2023 Haunted Mansion Daytime Bartender The Monkey King Benbo (voice) Leo Coach Kimura (voice) Reindeer in Here Hawk (voice) Short 2024 The Tiger's Apprentice Rooster (voice) 2026 Datu (voice) 2027

Television Year Title Role Notes 2001 Showtime at the Apollo Himself Episode: "Episode #15.6" 2005 I Love the '90s: Part Deux Himself Episode: "1993" ComicView Himself Episode: "Episode #14.6" Party @ the Palms Himself Episode: "Episode #1.2" 2006 Laffapalooza Himself Episode: "Laffapalooza Volume 7" 2008 Comedy Central Presents Himself Episode: "Jo Koy" I Love the New Millennium Himself Recurring Guest truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... Himself Recurring Guest The World Stands Up Himself Episode: "Episode #5.2" & "#5.13" 2009 The International Sexy Ladies Show Himself Main Cast Live at Gotham Himself/Host Episode: "Jo Koy" 2009–14 Chelsea Lately Himself/Panelist Recurring Panelist: Season 4–8 2010 Just for Laughs Himself Episode: "Episode #2.5" 2011 Stand Up Live Presents Himself Episode: "Stand Up Live Premiere with Jo Koy" 2012 Hollywood Uncensored with Sam Rubin Himself/Panelist Recurring Panelist 2012–13 Big Morning Buzz Live Himself/Panelist Guest Panelist: Season 4 & 7 2013 Gotham Comedy Live Himself/Host Episode: "Jo Koy" Family Tools Berrick Episode: "Pilot" 2015 World's Funniest Himself/Panelist Episode: "Gravity: It Kinda Sucks" The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Himself/Panelist Episode: "Racist Dr Seuss & Nebraska Death Penalty" 2017 Idiotest Himself Episode: "Episode #4.1" @midnight Himself Episode: "April 27, 2017" Sean in the Wild Himself Episode: "Filipino Food 101 with Jo Koy" 2018 Curry Shop Himself Episode: "Jo Koy Gives a Filipino Food Crash Course" 2019 Treat Yourself Himself Episode: "Treat Yourself: Jo Koy" Dressing Funny Himself Episode: "Jo Koy Bets Tan France $20 That He Can't Wear Stripes" 2019–20 Lights Out with David Spade Himself/Panelist Recurring Panelist 2020 Cooked with Cannabis Himself Episode: "Grilled Backyard BBQ" Mr. Iglesias Bob Episode: "Food for Thought" 2021 Metal Shop Masters Himself/Host Main Host 2022 Phat Tuesdays: The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy Himself Main Guest Celebrity Family Feud Himself/Contestant Episode: "Episode #9.4" Family Feud Himself Episode: "Jo Koy Special" 2022–23 The $100,000 Pyramid Himself/Celebrity Player Episode: "Episode #6.7" & "#6.16" 2023 Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens Bob (voice) Episode: "Love & Order" 2024 81st Golden Globe Awards Himself/Host Main Host Hailey's On It! Eddie Denoga (voice) Episode: "The Biggest Luger"

Stand-up specials Year Title Role Notes 2009 Don't Make Him Angry Himself Comedy Central Stand-Up Special 2012 Lights Out 2017 Live from Seattle Netflix Original Comedy Special 2019 Comin' in Hot 2020 In His Elements Netflix Original Variety Special 2022 Live from the LA Forum Netflix Original Comedy Special 2024 Live from Brooklyn Netflix Original Comedy Special