The Golden Globes, an annual film and television media award ceremony, aired on the January 7th. The host, comedian Jo Koy, left many, including me, angry. The backlash he has since received highlights an underlining issue about how the industry treats women.
The controversy started when Koy introduced the nominees for this year’s “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.” During his speech he said that “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project, and ‘Barbie’ is on a plastic doll with big boobies.” He followed up his comment by saying “the key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite and flat feet, or what casting directors call a character actor.”
His apparent joke wasn’t met with a good response from the crowd as well as the internet.
I find myself still in disbelief that “Barbie,” a feminist movie that shows just how hard it is to be a woman who can never meet the never-ending list of expectations that make up the “ideal woman,” is presented by a host with no acknowledgement towards the actual movies purpose and instead with a sexual comment.
After witnessing this and being just as disappointed as other women are right now around the world, I conclude that no matter how successful a woman is they will always be made as a joke by the industry.
We see evidence of this everywhere when it comes to comments about Taylor Swift who is receiving online bash about an overdramatic reaction. She made a face and took a sip of wine after another comment made by Koy about her camera time at the Kansas City Chiefs football games recently, where she was only there to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
I believe that we all have rights to the way we feel. What I don’t agree with is an unnecessary comment or an act of violence as a reaction.
Why is it that a silent response by Swift is seen by the public as overdramatic while Will Smith can go on stage and physically assault a host over a joke while yelling profanities and only receive a shortlasting backlash from the media. This is seen as a funny moment that was posted to the internet.
As a woman, I’ve been called overdramatic my whole life about things I’ve been upset by. This is why I truly do agree with the statement made by Swift in 2019 where she said, “When a man does something it’s strategic but if a woman does the same thing, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.”
The industry has a lot to work on and the fact that these jokes were approved to be in the Golden Globes is just all the more reason to pay close attention to the way the industry treats women. This is why I think it is important that we don’t stop talking about what happened at the Golden Globes, the industry depends on us as the audience. The more we call out the industry for their actions the more they will be forced to listen and change.
“Barbie” did end up winning the “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement”, which is a definite win for women as a whole. I am just let down that “Barbie” won, but only after a man could make one last sexist joke.