Is hosting an awards show a thankless job? Comedians weigh in after Jo Koy's Golden Globes performance is panned.

Comedian Jo Koy said it was a “dream come true” to be hosting the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, but the biggest names in film and TV in attendance did not exactly welcome his jokes with open arms.

Koy’s hosting performance was marked by a tepid reception in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton, where the show was broadcast, as well as from viewers at home, who took to social media with harsh critiques.

Koy levied jokes at the casts of Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon and nominee Taylor Swift, to name a few. Mid-monologue, he blamed his team of writers for the weak response.

“Some I wrote, some other people wrote,” the comedian said. “Yes, I got the gig 10 days ago! You want a perfect monologue? Yo, shut up. You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these, and they are the ones you are laughing at.”

On Monday, the reviews of Koy’s hosting duties were in. The New York Times said his “opening monologue felt like a highlight reel of mortifying moments,” adding, “It’s a shame, but Koy’s jokes will probably end up being best remembered for the memes they inspire on social media.”

The Independent called his presenting “painful,” noting that Koy’s opening monologue “was actually booed.”

But many in Hollywood know that hosting an awards show is hard work. Following the Globes, comedians like SNL co-head writer Michael Che and The View moderator and four-time Oscars host Whoopi Goldberg spoke out in defense of Koy.

Goldberg made it clear during The View Monday that hosting can be “brutal” — and she would know. In addition to her work as an award-winning actress and comedian, she was the first Black woman to emcee the Academy Awards solo, in 1994, and she followed up by hosting the ceremony several times, including in 1996, 1999 and 2002.

“If you don't know the room, if you've not been in these rooms before and you're sort of thrust out there, it's hit or miss,” Goldberg said. “I love Jo Koy. He, to me, makes me just 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. It is not an easy gig.”

Che took to Instagram Monday to share his thoughts as well.

“Comedians should boycott hosting award shows. … For one, [it’s] very difficult to make movie stars laugh. They’re way too self-conscious to have a good time. Two, they don’t even want to laugh. They’re too busy thinking about their careers and their speeches and their ‘cause,’” he wrote. “They think they want to be made fun of, but they actually don’t. They actually just want their trophy. And a nice photo.”

He continued, “Imagine right before Game 7 of the NBA finals, you had to go in the locker room and make LeBron laugh.”

A rep for Che did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.

Many comedians weighed in on Che’s post in the comments section, including Jeffrey Ross, who wrote, “I’d rather take a window seat on an Alaska Airlines flight than host the Golden Globes.”

“This made me [applaud] and cry laughing at the same time!” comedian and content creator Chinedu Ogu commented.

Ogu told Yahoo Entertainment that he thinks Koy is “one of the funniest guys out here.”

“I saw clips, and I feel bad, because Jo Koy is a hilarious comedian. He is hilarious ... and it's what Michael Che said. Certain crowds, it's hard to make laugh, and ... especially in this era now, it's hard to find celebrities that are cool with laughing at themselves live on camera,” he explained.

Ogu, who is emceeing the 2024 Houston Sports Awards preshow later this month, believes comedians should still aim to host awards shows, though.

“We got this. We are in the pocket with this,” he says.

“I give disclaimers at certain shows. I hate to have to do that, but if it's a certain crowd, it's a very big event that's being taped and live, we're live and I only got one shot at it, sometimes I gotta let the crowd know, ‘Hey guys, don't take this to heart. We're joking. Cameras are rolling,’” he said. “When you say that, for some reason, it's weird, they get it.”

Koy, for his part, has read the reviews of his performance. In an interview on GMA3 Monday, he responded to the criticism, saying he had an “off night.”

“I’d be lying if [I said] it doesn’t hurt,” he said. “I hit a little moment there where I was just like, hosting is just, it’s a tough gig. And, yes, I am a stand-up comic, but that hosting position, it’s a different style.”

Koy called the experience “a crash course.”

“I feel bad, but I gotta still say that I loved what I did,” he said.