Koy hosted Sunday night's 81st Golden Globe Awards where a majority of his jokes went viral for the wrong reasons.
Kevin Hart is praising Jo Koy in the wake of his less-than-stellar hosting debut at the 81st Golden Globe Awards.
The Lift star appeared on Thursday's episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and shared his perspective on the reaction to Koy's roast-filled opening monologue.
"Jo Koy is a phenomenal comedian; he sells out arenas everywhere, and that's for a reason," Hart said of his peer. "He has a following, he has a fan base. That's a tough room, you know, it's not like it's an easy room. It's an industry room, a jaded [room]. It's an industry room where the expectation is one of like consequence, so everybody's on edge about what are you going to say about me. It's not one that's attached to immediate laughter."
Hart went on to note why he believes there are comedians who have similar hosting styles -- where they've roasted their star-studded audiences -- but been praised rather than scolded.
"I think the comics that have partaken and have had success, it's because they have a nice understanding of the industry and the personnel. [They] have relationships like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Ricky Gervais. You can go down a list of the comics that have hosted and had success, they have relationships, they've been embedded in that environment for quite some time," he claimed.
He added: "So there's a lot of trickery that goes into playing it, and I think the audience plays a big part in success, but Jo's fine. If I'm Jo, I don't let it get to me, let it slide off of your back. You're fine, you'll be fine, you're a talented successful comic. By the way everyone's talking about him, so there's that. Yes, it's a good thing you know who Jo Koy is now."
Koy has addressed the reaction to his jokes, especially the joke that went most viral: a quip about the amount of airtime Taylor Swift has received recently when attending her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's, NFL games.
ET spoke with Koy on the red carpet at Billboard's Golden Globes after-party, where he brought up the viral moment. "Aww, man, it was cute. I was just saying it was cute," Koy told ET of the joke. "I was just saying it's less cutaways, that's all."
Later, when appearing on GMA3: What You Need to Know, Koy admitted that backlash to his hosting duties hurt a bit.
"I had fun. You know, it was a moment that I'll always remember," Koy said the morning after the Globes. "It's a tough room. It was a hard job, I'm not going to lie...I'd be lying if [I said] it doesn't hurt. I hit a moment there where I was like, 'Ah.' 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."
Koy confessed that after his rough debut, he's not sure he'd jump back into being an awards host again.
"That's a tough gig, I'm not going to lie," he said when asked if he'd host the Globes again. "I love the art of standup. It was cool the opportunity came to me, but hosting is just a beast. That's about it."
Koy went on to say he had an "off night" and admitted to being a little deflated by the reaction. "I wanted to give a little bit more of me, and I fell a little short. That's all," he said.
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