Jo Koy says joke on Taylor Swift was about NFL using her cutaways

Jo Koy and Taylor Swift at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. Screenshot from Golden Globes YouTube. Graphics by Sam Yap / INQUIRER.net

Jo Koy said his joke at the 81st Golden Globe awards referencing Taylor Swift was actually directed towards the National Football League (NFL) using her cutaways to draw more viewers to watch the game.

During an interview with the Los Angeles, California-based KTLA last Jan. 9, Jo Koy was asked for his reaction to Swift’s serious, if not chilly, reception to his joke on her NFL game attendance. In that controversial spiel, he claimed the Golden Globes has fewer cutaways of Swift than the NFL, in which the camera panned to the singer-songwriter to catch her taking a sip from her champagne flute, seemingly unamused by his wisecrack.

The Filipino-American standup-comedian clarified that it wasn’t Swift, nor her boyfriend, professional footballer Travis Kelce, he was taking a dig at, but the NFL that seemed to have taken the penchant of always using her shots for “publicity.”

“I was a little confused. The joke was about the NFL. NFL is using (Swift) for cutaways which is great. It brings a lot of publicity. But the joke was about the NFL [having] a lot of cutaways to her,” said Jo Koy, adding that he had speculated that Swift’s viral reaction was another “cutaway” since “no one was listening” to him.

“I think it was a cutaway. No one was listening to me, I’m not sure if you guys know this. Maybe Taylor was talking about something. I don’t know,” he further said.

Just like many, Jo Koy said that he love Swift, and there was no intention to insult her.

“Who doesn’t love Taylor? The world [loves Taylor]. The joke was about the NFL using the cutaways to pull in views. I don’t know,” he said.

The actor-comedian also pointed out that the criticism towards his opening monologue is a glaring sign of how “everyone is so perfect.”

“Isn’t it weird how everyone’s so perfect now in the world? To everyone watching, how does it feel to be so perfect?” he said.

In a separate interview with Good Morning America on Jan. 9, Jo Koy admitted that he “feels bad” after his Golden Globes hosting stint sparked backlash from netizens.

He, however, said he nonetheless had “fun” and hosting the prestigious awards ceremony is a gig he will remember.