Jo Koy addresses Golden Globes backlash

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From Jo Koy to Oppenheimer, it was a memorable night in Hollywood at the Golden Globe awards. Extra's Billy Bush joined FOX 11 to recap the night.

LOS ANGELES - Comedian Jo Koy is addressing that controversial joke he made during his stint hosting the 81st Golden Globes Sunday night.

It was one joke in particular that Koy said changed the entire energy in the room - something that didn't go unnoticed by the audience.

"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift," Koy joked. "I swear. There's just more to go to, here."

Jo Koy at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024.(Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images)

Following Koy's joke, the camera immediately panned to Swift, who was seen picking up her drink, taking a sip, and looking a bit displeased.

"I think it was when the Taylor [Swift] one was just a little flat," he said during an appearance on GMA3. "It was a weird joke, I guess. But it was more on the NFL, you know what I mean? I was trying to make fun of the NFL using cutaways and how the Globes didn’t have to do that."

Koy said the pop superstar wasn't the target of his joke, but rather it was the NFL. Swift is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was notably absent from the awards ceremony.

"So it was more of a jab toward the NFL. But it just didn’t come out that way," he said.

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Swift and Kelce have become one of the hottest celebrity couples in the world since they began dating early in the season, and the 12-time Grammy Award-winner has watched her boyfriend numerous times at games across the U.S.

"There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once," Swift previously told TIME.

Taylor Swift at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 7, 2024. (Photo: Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)

It didn't take long for the internet to go wild with memes after the awkward exchange.

Koy said despite the backlash, he loved hosting the ceremony.

"That's a tough room. It was a hard job, I’m not going to lie," he told the hosts. "I’d be lying if [I said] it doesn’t hurt…Hosting is just — it's a tough gig. Yes, I’m a stand-up comic but that hosting position, it’s a different style…I feel bad, but I got to still say that I loved what I did."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.