Chelsea Handler takes dig at ex Jo Koy during Critics Choice hosting gig

(From left) Chelsea Handler, Jo Koy. Images: Instagram/@chelseahandler, Reuters

Filipino-American standup comic Jo Koy took another hit for his Golden Globes hosting, this time from his ex-girlfriend, actress-comedian Chelsea Handler, who was hosting the 29th Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California on Sunday, January 14 (Monday, January 15 in the Philippines).

Handler couldn’t help but throw shade at Jo Koy, who was still reeling from the aftermath of his controversial hosting stint when she poked fun at her “attraction” to older men, including octogenarians Harrison Ford and Robert de Niro, who were present at the event

In her monologue, Handler was poking fun at her “attraction” to older men including octogenarians Harrison Ford and Robert De Niro, who were present at the event.

She then joked about “tossing” 81-year-old actor-director Martin Scorsese “around like a little Italian meatball” even if he was absent at the Barker Hangar of the Santa Monica Airport, where the awards night was being held.

“Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn’t here tonight, but that’s not gonna stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball,” she said.

Handler then followed up with the punchy, “Thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it,” which earned laughter and applause from the audience, as captured by US-based TV platform TVLine on X (formerly Twitter).

During the #CriticsChoiceAwards, Chelsea Handler took a not-so-subtle dig at her ex-boyfriend Jo Koy’s disastrous #GoldenGlobes performance. pic.twitter.com/poeKIHxC10

— TVLine.com (@TVLine) January 15, 2024

This was an apparent shade at Jo Koy, who during the Golden Globes had his writers bear the brunt of the audience’s displeasure at his jokes.

“Some I wrote. Some other people wrote. Yo, got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue? Shut up. You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these and they’re the ones you’re laughing at,” he had said after he was booed.

Jo Koy has since apologized for throwing in his writers under, saying he would make it up to them. He also said he “felt hurt” over the criticism.

Handler and Jo Koy were longtime friends and were inseparable for two decades before getting into a relationship in 2021. They eventually called it quits in July 2022, almost a year after, with Chandler saying “Jokoy renewed (her) faith in men, in love.” 

Asked recently as to the reason for their breakup, Handler said that she could not handle some of his behavior which she did not approve of.