Jo Koy's mom admits being hurt by Filipino bashers of comedian's Golden Globes performance
Jo Koy's mother, Josie Harrison, has aired her ill sentiments towards Filipinos who hurled insults and criticisms against her son for his controversial hosting stint at the 81st Golden Globes.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Harrison couldn't help but get emotional as she admitted that she was hurt at the negative comments Jo Koy received for the jokes he made during his opening monologue at the recently-concluded award show.
"I know Joseph tried his best that night, so I am with my son no matter what," Harrison said, referring to her son's birth name.
Jo Koy was particularly criticized for his misogynistic Barbie joke, where he said, "Oppenheimer and Barbie are competing for cinematic box office achievement; Oppenheimer is based on a 724-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is based on a plastic doll with big boobies."
The Fil-Am comedian further fueled the public's rage over his hosting when he blamed the writers for the joke.
He also poked fun at how the Golden Globes had fewer shots of Taylor Swift than NFL games. Reacting to this, the singer simply kept a straight face, pursed her lips, and then sipped her drink.
Nevertheless, Harrison came to her son's defense, stressing that being a host is a tough job and that "nobody is perfect."
"Ang masasabi ko lang sa kanila, hindi po napakadali ang magsalita ng ganyan. Hindi madali maging komedyante kagaya ng anak ko. Gaya ng sabi ko, ang isang komedyante, they try to please you, they try to make you laugh, to make you smile," she said.
"Nalungkot ako sa iba, lalo na kapag nakikita ko ‘yung source ng naysayers ay mga Pilipino. I was kinda disappointed," she added, sharing that she advised her son to ignore the critics as he cannot please everybody.
Harrison highlighted that Jo Koy hosted the Golden Globes "for the sake of the Asian group," which is why remains a proud mom of her son.
While the comedian has acknowledged that some of his jokes during the award show "fell a little flat," he has since looked back at his performance anew and joked that the crowd had a "lot [of] marshmallows" and that they were "soft."
Aside from his mother, former awards show hosts and comedians have also stepped up to defend him, including the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Kevin Hart, and Michael V.
Harrison is frequently used as the butt of many of Jo Koy's jokes during his stand-up sets, telling stories about how she raised him in a typical Filipino manner that is both hilarious and relatable to the audience.