AFTER RECEIVING a lot of flak and criticism from the community for his hosting of the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Joseph Glenn Herbert Sr. aka Jo Koy, has also been defended by some of the most notable personalities in showbiz and even sports.
One of them is ESPN's NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith, who ranted on his radio show.
Smith then recounted an interview where American singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, mentioned about her camera appearances.
"Whether Taylor Swift smiled or not, is irrelevant. If she didn't like the joke, she didn't like the joke. I heard she came on and said, 'That she's not aware of when she's going to be on camera or how often she is going to be in camera."
Immediately, Smith questioned her answer and said: "Taylor Swift first of all stop, you're a superstar and you deserve it by the way....You have fans all over the globe, when you walk anywhere, into any place, stop acting like the camera on you was a surprise. Respectfully stop, that's BS."
"Your Taylor Swift, cameras are going to follow you," reiterated Smith.
Immediately, he shifted his attention to Jo Koy's Taylor Swift joke, which saw Swift unamused.
Eventually, the ESPN analyst went on a rampage.
"How the hell was that cruel?" reflected Smith.
"The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift, that's a reason to be offended?"
"Not just to Taylor Swift, to us as an audience. HOW IS THAT OFFENSIVE? WHAT DID HE SAY? YOU CAN'T TELL JOKES? THAT IS AS HARMLESS AS A JOKE AS THERE IS."
Have we become soft?
Smith's kept on barraging on his radio show and he even called out the critics, branding them as 'soft.'
"What are we going to do next? Why can't we just admit that you have a whole bunch of people out there, soft as hell, can't take anything."
And because of their comments on social media, Smith was worried about what will happen to comedians in the industry. Stephen A. has always been a fans of their craft specifically the likes of Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle.
"Y'all gonna put comedians out of business. Laughter is valuable yo! Laughter is a huge commodity. I wanna laugh. You get a good joke on somebody so be it."
He then further explained Jo Koy's joke by giving the community some context behind it.
"We have really become a soft-a*s society? We can't take anything. Seriously this is embarrassing, that this guy can actually take up heat for that innocuous joke. So what if Taylor Swift didn't like it? It wasn't offensive, but the reality is that there have been a lot of camera shots of her in the NFL games and that's factual," as stated by Stephen A. Smith.
"Fact number 2, there are more cameras in NFL games than there are in the Golden Globes. What's the problem?"
He eventually gave a food for thought to his viewers.
"If our society doesn't take a turn and grow the hell up quick. We're gonna find ourselves muzzled in so many different ways. There's not going to be room for a whole bunch of sh*t to happen, that's productive and beneficial for our society as a whole."
Others express their thoughts on Jo Koy
While Smith has been rambling about the community's negative backlash on Jo Koy, others have also expressed their thoughts on Jo Koy's jokes.
This includes Barbie director Greta Gerwig. Jo Koy was criticized for his joke on barbie, where he said: "Barbie is a plastic doll with big boobies."
In a BBC Radio show, Gerwig replied, "He was not wrong, she is the first doll to be mass produced with breasts, so he was right on. I think so much of the movie was unlikely because it is about a pastic doll and Barbie, by her very construction, has no character, no story. She’s there to be projected upon."
Even comedian and actor Kevin Hart talked about Jo Koy, saying: "That's a tough room and without the knowledge to let's say navigate that room, ok. You can have some moments, some bumps, but Jo is fine, Jo Koy is a talented, funny, f*cking guy."
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