Fuming over Golden Globes joke, Taylor Swift fans pull Travis Kelce into the backlash
Travis Kelce wasn’t even at the Golden Globes on Sunday, but fans of Taylor Swift have invoked his name in the backlash to Jo Koy’s joke about the pop superstar.
In Koy’s opening monologue, the comedian and host of the show said the “big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”
Swift, who was in the audience at The Beverly Hilton hotel, didn’t laugh. The steely look in her eyes and the slow sip she took of her drink went viral on social media.
Swift was nominated for a new Golden Globe for cinematic and box office achievement for her Eras Tour concert film. It lost to “Barbie” and when the winner was announced, Swift jumped out of her seat and applauded, leading a standing ovation.
Coincidentally on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was just up the road at SoFi Stadium, where the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers. Kelce, resting up for the playoffs, did not play.
He clearly wasn’t far from people’s minds at the awards show. As Swift walked in with her bestie, actress Keleigh Sperry, someone yelled out: “Go Chiefs!”
Swifties immediately brought up Kelce as they roasted Koy on social media. The incident has made so many headlines that some folks wondered Monday if he’ll talk about it with his brother, Jason Kelce, on their “New Heights” podcast this week.
“Jo Koy made use of the fact that Travis Kelce didn’t show up,” one fan tweeted on X.
“Atp all I need is Travis Kelce to drag Jo Koy for that joke on here, and I’ll call it a night,” wrote another.
“Jo Koy you know Travis Kelce can fight right?” warned another Swift fan.
Memes popped up of Kelce defending Swift. (Come on now. Would Barbie expect that from Ken?)
Some people uncomfortably referenced Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards two years ago. (Yikes.)
On social media, critics far outnumbered the few people who thought the joke was more lame than hurtful. Koy, still feeling the heat on Monday, said hosting the show was nothing like doing a stand-up routine. He is set to perform at The Midland in Kansas City on March 14.
“I kinda feel bad for #jokoy,” wrote one X user. “The swifties are overreacting but that monologue was an unfunny mess — it had no overriding narrative, and no POV other than he didn’t have enough time to prepare.” Koy was announced as host just a couple weeks before the show.
Koy told ABC’s “GMA3: What You Need to Know” on Monday the Golden Globes is “a tough room. It was a hard job, I’m not going to lie.”
He brought up the Swift joke when asked if there was a moment he felt bad about.
“I think it was when the Taylor (Swift) one was just a little flat. … It was a weird joke, I guess,” he said.
“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. So it was more of a jab toward the NFL. But it just didn’t come out that way.”
The Golden Globes haven’t had much luck in recent years finding good hosts. But after what happened on Sunday, some Swifties had the same thought.
“Travis Kelce would probably be a better host than Jo Koy lbr,” tweeted Flamingo Pink.
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