Greta Gerwig Is Cool With Jo Koy’s Golden Globes Joke About ‘Barbie’

For the second year in a row, the Golden Globes were back, after a little hiatus from the airwaves in 2022 over all their, shall we say, issues. By now things are more or less back to normal, which is to say Sunday night’s show was kind of a mess. Though and dominated the headlines, so did its choice of host: comic and star Jo Koy, who delivered an opening monologue that was, to put it mildly, not well received.

But was Koy really that bad? One of his joke targets doesn’t think so. , Greta Gerwig recently went on BBC Radio 4, where she was asked about Koy’s bit about her most recent directorial work, . During his opener, the comic cracked that , which took home Best Motion Picture — Drama, “is based on a 721 page Pulitzer Prize winning book about the Manhattan Project, and is on a plastic doll with big boobies.” Did that leave Gerwig offended? Pshaw.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” she replied. “She’s the first doll that was mass produced with breasts, so he was right on. And you know, I think that so much of the project of the movie was unlikely because it is about a plastic doll… Barbie by her very construction has no character, no story, she’s there to be projected upon.” It’s a thoughtful response to what was a silly joke.

And it’s not like the movie has been treated like some joke. On top of making gobs of cash money, it has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many of the reviews praising its smarts, particularly that moving, Meryl Streep approved America Ferrera speech. Perhaps we don’t have to remind you that it’s the latest from the director of and the 2019 , and it was cowritten by the maker of Greenberg, which co starred [drum roll] Gerwig.

At this year’s Globes, was nominated for nine trophies, including Best Motion Picture — Musical of Comedy. It won two: one for the Billie Eilish song “What Was I Made For?” and another for the odd Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. (Via ).