# Jo Koy

Joseph Glenn Herbert (born June 2, 1971), known professionally as Jo Koy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a frequent panelist on E!'s late night show Chelsea Lately, and he has since had a total of six comedy specials released by Comedy Central and Netflix. In 2024, Koy hosted the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

## Early life and education

Koy was born to an American father, John C. Herbert, who was in the United States Air Force stationed in Japan when he married Koy's Filipina mother, Josie Harrison. His stepfather, Fredrick Harrison, also helped raise him. His family moved from Spanaway, Washington, to Tacoma, Washington. He originally attended Spanaway Lake High School and then Foss High School in Tacoma. Soon after he finished high school, the family moved to Las Vegas to be near his ailing grandmother. Jo Koy enrolled in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but dropped out to pursue stand-up comedy.
Koy has said that his stage name comes from a nickname his family gave him when he was growing up. It was said during his stand-up routine in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 22, 2019, that back in 1989 he was talking to his cousin about making a stage name when his aunt called him to come to dinner, shouting "Jo Ko, eat!" (Ko means "my" in Tagalog, so Jo Ko means "my Jo"), which he misheard as "Koy," and, deciding that it was a good name, has used it ever since.

## Career

In 2019, Augustus Welby, writing for the Beat Magazine in Melbourne, described Koy as having performed comedy for 30 years. Koy is said to have begun his stand-up career at a coffee house in Las Vegas, in 1994. Soon then moved to open mic nights, before landing regular gigs.
The regular appearances included Catch a Rising Star at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. After that, he rented the Huntridge Theater, also in Las Vegas, and went door to door to sell tickets to his comedy shows. A talent coordinator from Los Angeles spotted Koy and landed him his first television appearance—on BET's ComicView, where he has appeared for two seasons.
Koy's apperances as a regular guest at Chelsea Handler's Chelsea Lately was reported by David Tusing of the Gulf News as having given "him prominence in the US". (Koy appeared on that late night show regularly, reportedly on over 100 episodes.) He has also appeared on Carlos Mencia's Punisher Tour performing stand-up comedy. In 2005, He performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Koy started a podcast together with comedian and TV host Michael Yo on July 23, 2012, called The Michael Yo and Jo Koy Show. Later, he joined the PodcastOne family; there he hosts the weekly podcast,The Koy Pond with Jo Koy, where he "riff[s] on various topics with... fellow comedians". Writing in The Beat, Welby describes Koy's fanbase as having "blossomed since [Jo Koy:] Live From Seattle arrived online in March 2017", that being his third comedy special, and a Netflix Original.
In 2019, Koy released another Netflix special, entitled Jo Koy: Comin' in Hot, which was filmed before a crowd of about 8,000 at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. As of September 2019, plans were being made to have Koy’s next Netflix special, to be based on his 2020 Just Kidding world tour, recorded at the Blaisdell as well. On February 23, 2019, Koy performed two shows on stage at the Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, Colorado, for the closing night of Aspen Laugh Festival. Joy's subsequent 2020 Just Kidding World Tour took him to the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
On June 12, 2020, Netflix released Jo Koy: In His Elements, a comedy special featuring Filipino American comedians, DJs, and B-boys. On July 28, 2022, Koy, alongside film producer Dan Lin appeared in the Rise for Comedy festival, where they raised a $75,000 donation to the nonprofit Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA).
Koy was a regular guest on the podcast, The Adam Carolla Show.

### 2023 Golden Globe Awards

On December 21, 2023, Koy was announced as host of the 81st Golden Globe Awards. Koy's monologue as host of the 81st Golden Globe Awards was met with criticism from viewers and critics. Chelsey Sanchez of Bazaar described his monologue as "awkward" and "distasteful". Shirley Li of The Atlantic wrote, "practically every joke failed to land, mostly because the punchlines were dated or obvious". Variety's television critic Alison Herman panned Koy as "woefully unqualified" to be an awards show host. Koy was met with criticism for putting blame on his writers during the monologue, coming after a lengthy 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Justin Curto of Vulture noted, that when some of his jokes fell flat, Koy "immediately threw his writers under the bus... He yelled. 'Yo, shut up. You're kidding me, right. Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they're the ones you're laughing at.'"
Hershal Pandya of Vulture wrote "Comedians have tanked at the Golden Globes before but none quite as spectacularly as Koy." Marlow Stern of Rolling Stone noted that many of Koy's jokes drew "groans" and "boos" from the audience. Among the barbs that drew the most ire were sexist jokes involving the Barbie movie and Taylor Swift, as well as uncomfortable jokes directed at Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro. Nicole Sperling of The New York Times, who was in the audience that night, wrote, "Never seen an audience rebel against an emcee so quickly" and cited a prominent director describing Koy as a "disaster". Viewers online noted stunned reactions from the crowd from people such as Selena Gomez, Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.
Koy responded to the criticism in an interview with Good Morning America, admitting, "I'd be lying if I said the backlash didn't hurt", but also admitted, "I had fun. You know, it was a moment that I'll always remember. Hosting is just a tough gig. Yes, I'm a stand-up comic but that hosting position it's a different style. I kind of went in and did the writer's thing. We had 10 days to write this monologue. It was a crash course. I feel bad, but I got to still say I loved what I did." Fellow comedians such as Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and Kevin Hart, as well as radio host Howard Stern, expressed sympathy towards Koy, with many of them arguing that the job of a comedian is not always easy, especially when hosting an awards show. A week later at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards, Koy's ex-girlfriend and fellow comedian Chelsea Handler made a joke about his performance by praising her writers for a joke received well by the audience.

## Influences

Koy has named Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, and Steve Martin as his comedy influences. In 2022, Blogtalk with MJ Racadio named him one of the "75 Most Influential Filipino-Americans".

## Charitable work

In 2009, The Jo Koy Foundation hosted its first philanthropic event in "Hilarity for Charity" a stand-up comedy show featuring Koy, along with special surprise comedic guests. The show took place at The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club, located in the heart of Citywalk, Universal City, California. Proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to The Children's Hospital of Orange County.

## Personal life

Koy was married earlier to Filipino-American singer, Angie King. Koy and Chelsea Handler were in a relationship between 2021 and 2022. Koy has a son, Joseph Jr., from his marriage to King, born at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, in April 2003.
For a time, around the production of his Comin' in Hot special, Koy was described as considering Hawaii as "a second home". As of 2023, Koy lived in Los Angeles, and Koy's son lived between the homes of his father, and mother, which are "one block down from each other", in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Koy's stepfather, retired Army Sergeant Fredrick Harrison, died in 2023, and was eulogized by Koy, who said, "He served 20 years... received 2 Purple Hearts, 2 Bronze Stars and a CIB [Combat Infantryman Badge] badge... [of which] he was most proud... He was a hero. My hero."
Koy's mother is a supporter of the Republican Party and Donald Trump; Koy himself has shied away from politics in his comedy routines.
As of January 2023, Koy was described as being a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 2023, Koy got his arm tattooed by mambabatok Wilma “Ate Wamz” Gaspili at Igorot’s Charm Cafe across Baguio Botanical Garden.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Virginia | Chester Blind | |
| 2018 | Wake. | Peter Lewis | |
| 2020 | Anastasia: Once Upon a Time | Vladimir Lenin | |
| 2022 | Easter Sunday | Joe Valencia | |
| 2023 | Haunted Mansion | Daytime Bartender | |
| 2023 | The Monkey King | Benbo (voice) | |
| 2023 | Leo | Coach Komura (voice) | |
| 2023 | Reindeer in Here | Hawk (voice) | Short |
| 2024 | The Tiger's Apprentice | Rooster (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Showtime at the Apollo | Himself | Episode: "Episode #15.6" |
| 2005 | I Love the '90s: Part Deux | Himself | Episode: "1993" |
| 2005 | ComicView | Himself | Episode: "Episode #14.6" |
| 2005 | Party @ the Palms | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.2" |
| 2006 | Laffapalooza | Himself | Episode: "Laffapalooza Volume 7" |
| 2008 | Comedy Central Presents | Himself | Episode: "Jo Koy" |
| 2008 | I Love the New Millennium | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2008 | truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2008 | The World Stands Up | Himself | Episode: "Episode #5.2" & "#5.13" |
| 2009 | The International Sexy Ladies Show | Himself | Main Cast |
| 2009 | Live at Gotham | Himself/Host | Episode: "Jo Koy" |
| 2009-14 | Chelsea Lately | Himself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist: Season 4-8 |
| 2010 | Just for Laughs | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.5" |
| 2011 | Stand Up Live Presents | Himself | Episode: "Stand Up Live Premiere with Jo Koy" |
| 2012 | Hollywood Uncensored with Sam Rubin | Himself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist |
| 2012-13 | Big Morning Buzz Live | Himself/Panelist | Guest Panelist: Season 4 & 7 |
| 2013 | Gotham Comedy Live | Himself/Host | Episode: "Jo Koy" |
| 2013 | Family Tools | Berrick | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | World's Funniest | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Gravity: It Kinda Sucks" |
| 2015 | The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "Racist Dr Seuss & Nebraska Death Penalty" |
| 2017 | Idiotest | Himself | Episode: "Episode #4.1" |
| 2017 | @midnight | Himself | Episode: "April 27, 2017" |
| 2017 | Sean in the Wild | Himself | Episode: "Filipino Food 101 with Jo Koy" |
| 2018 | Curry Shop | Himself | Episode: "Jo Koy Gives a Filipino Food Crash Course" |
| 2019 | Treat Yourself | Himself | Episode: "Treat Yourself: Jo Koy" |
| 2019 | Dressing Funny | Himself | Episode: "Jo Koy Bets Tan France $20 That He Can't Wear Stripes" |
| 2019-20 | Lights Out with David Spade | Himself/Panelist | Recurring Panelist |
| 2020 | Cooked with Cannabis | Himself | Episode: "Grilled Backyard BBQ" |
| 2020 | Mr. Iglesias | Bob | Episode: "Food for Thought" |
| 2021 | Metal Shop Masters | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| 2022 | Phat Tuesdays: The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy | Himself | Main Guest |
| 2022 | Celebrity Family Feud | Himself/Contestant | Episode: "Episode #9.4" |
| 2022 | Family Feud | Himself | Episode: "Jo Koy Special" |
| 2022-23 | The $100,000 Pyramid | Himself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Episode #6.7" & "#6.16" |
| 2023 | Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens | Bob (voice) | Episode: "Love & Order" |
| 2024 | 81st Golden Globe Awards | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| 2024 | Hailey's On It! | Eddie Denoga (voice) | Episode: "The Biggest Luger" |

### Stand-up specials

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Don't Make Him Angry | Himself | Comedy Central Stand-Up Special |
| 2012 | Lights Out | Himself | Comedy Central Stand-Up Special |
| 2017 | Live from Seattle | Himself | Netflix Original Comedy Special |
| 2019 | Comin' in Hot | Himself | Netflix Original Comedy Special |
| 2020 | In His Elements | Himself | Netflix Original Variety Special |
| 2022 | Live from the LA Forum | Himself | Netflix Original Comedy Special |
| 2024 | Live from Brooklyn | Himself | Netflix Original Comedy Special |