Greta Gerwig responds to Jo Koy’s Golden Globes joke: ‘He’s not wrong’

Greta Gerwig and Jo Koy | Image: @gretagerwig_fans @goldenglobes IG

Greta Gerwig said Barbie is the first “mass-produced doll with breasts,” agreeing with Jo Koy’s much-criticized Golden Globes joke.

In an interview with Variety, the award-winning director explained that when Jo Koy joked that “Barbie is a plastic doll with big boobies,” he was saying some truths about it, expounding it as the reason for the lack of representation of the doll on screen.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Gerwig said about Jo Koy. “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,” 

Gerwig emphasized that when the inventor of Barbie created the doll, she perceived it as a realization that when children play with dolls, it is not to represent the desire to be a mother but to grow up as a woman.

“The insight that Ruth Handler had when she was watching her daughter play with baby dolls, is she realized, ‘My daughter doesn’t want to pretend to be a mother. She wants to pretend to be a grown woman,’” she shared. 

During the 81st Golden Globe, Gerwig’s film nabbed the first-ever title for cinematic and box office achievement. “Barbie” was well-celebrated upon its release in 2023, making it a critical and a box-office hit with $1.4 billion worldwide.

The “Lady Bird” director expressed her gratitude for attaining the Golden Globe, noting her desire to give people a memorable experience in cinemas.

“It was very wonderful and emotional to be able to take to the stage with the group that made it,” Gerwig said of her Globe award. 

“The thing that we wanted most of all was to connect with people and to have people share an experience in the cinemas. It felt like, even though this is a brand-new award, it felt like it was the award to honor that and that was always what we wanted to do,” added the director. 

Jo Koy drew massive flak during his 2024 Golden Globes hosting stint after uttering the “Barbie” joke, as many considered the line to be plain sexist. The Filipino-American comedian also received criticism for his punchline on Taylor Swift and the NFL.

Despite the backlash that the stand-up comic faced, many celebrities pitched in to defend him.