Steve Martin understands the pressure of hosting an award show and is giving Jo Koy some grace after his stint at the Golden Globes.
The Only Murders in the Building star, took to social media to defend Koy amid the backlash over his hosting duties that included a mention of Taylor Swift that didn’t land well.
“I tip my hat to anyone who steps out on stage to host a live awards show. It’s a very difficult job and not for the squeamish,” Martin wrote on Threads. “I know because I’m still throwing up from the last time I did it in 2010.”
Martin has hosted the Oscars three times, two times as the solo host and a third round with Alec Baldwin. After all the criticism, Martin feels that Koy could use this experience for his stand-up.
“So, Congratulations to Jo Koy, who took on the toughest gig in show business, hit, missed, was light on his feet, and now has twenty minutes of new material for his stand-up!” Martin added.
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Martin is not the only award-show host who has defended Koy from criticism. Oscar-winner and host Whoopi Goldberg also shared some positive words about Koy following the Golden Globes.
“These hosting gigs are brutal,” Goldberg said on The View. “If you don’t know the room, if you’ve not been in these rooms before and you’re thrust out there, it’s hit or miss.”
Goldberg continued, “I love Jo Koy, he makes me crazy because he’s funny. I don’t know whether it was the room, I don’t know whether it was the jokes, I didn’t get to see it. But I do know, that he is as good as it gets when it comes to stand-ups and it is not an easy gig.”
Koy addressed the backlash the next day, saying it was “a tough room,” a “hard job,” and a “hard, hard gig.”