Jo Koy

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title: "Jo Koy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1971-births", "20th-century-american-comedians", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "21st-century-american-comedians", "21st-century-american-male-actors", "american-comedians-of-asian-descent", "american-male-actors-of-filipino-descent", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-voice-actors", "american-people-of-filipino-descent", "american-practitioners-of-brazilian-jiu-jitsu", "american-stand-up-comedians", "comedians-from-los-angeles", "comedians-from-washington-(state)", "living-people", "people-from-spanaway,-washington", "university-of-nevada,-las-vegas-alumni", "male-actors-from-tacoma,-washington", "mass-media-people-from-tacoma,-washington"] description: "American comedian (born 1971)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Koy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American comedian (born 1971) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox comedian"]

Field	Value
name	Jo Koy
image	Jo Koy by Gage Skidmore.jpg
caption	Koy in 2025
birth_name	Joseph Glenn Herbert
birth_date
birth_place	Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Japan
nationality	American
education	University of Nevada, Las Vegas
medium
genre
subject
years_active	1989–present
spouse
children	1
website
::

| name = Jo Koy | image = Jo Koy by Gage Skidmore.jpg | image_size = | caption = Koy in 2025 | birth_name = Joseph Glenn Herbert | birth_date = | birth_place = Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Japan | nationality = American | education = University of Nevada, Las Vegas | medium = | genre = | subject = | years_active = 1989–present | spouse = | children = 1 | notable_works = | signature = | website =

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. 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.

Koy's appearances 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.

Koy hosts the weekly podcast, The Koy Pond with Jo Koy, where he "riff[s] on various topics with... fellow comedians".

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.

Koy has starred in other TV stand-up specials, like Jamie Foxx Presents: Laffapalooza! Koy won the Showtime at the Apollo, performed in front of troops in the USO Tour, can be seen on various VH1 series (e.g.,I Love the '70s, '80s, '90s), on truTV's World's Dumbest..., on New Millennium episodes, and on Amp'd Mobile phone commercials.

Koy has done two highly rated and successful comedy specials on Comedy Central: Don't Make Him Angry, and Lights Out.

He has also since appeared on appear on other late night shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Other appearances include @midnight with Chris Hardwick, World's Funniest Fails, The Joy Behar Show, and Last Call with Carson Daly.--

In 2025, Koy participated in the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the Saudi government is using the comedy festival to whitewash its human rights abuses.

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.

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".

Personal life

Koy was previously married to Filipino-American singer Angie King. Koy has a son, Joseph Jr., from his marriage to King, born at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, in April 2003. Koy and Chelsea Handler were in a relationship between 2021 and 2022.

For a time, around the production of his Comin' in Hot special, Koy was described as considering Hawaii as "a second home".--

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

::data[format=table]

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
The Monkey King	Benbo (voice)
Leo	Coach Komura (voice)
Reindeer in Here	Hawk (voice)	Short
2024	The Tiger's Apprentice	Rooster (voice)
2026	The Last Resort
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Showtime at the Apollo	Himself	Episode: "Episode #15.6"
2005	I Love the '90s: Part Deux	Himself	Episode: "1993"
ComicView	Himself	Episode: "Episode #14.6"
Party @ the Palms	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.2"
2006	Laffapalooza	Himself	Episode: "Laffapalooza Volume 7"
2008	Comedy Central Presents	Himself	Episode: "Jo Koy"
I Love the New Millennium	Himself	Recurring Guest
truTV Presents: World's Dumbest...	Himself	Recurring Guest
The World Stands Up	Himself	Episode: "Episode #5.2" & "#5.13"
2009	The International Sexy Ladies Show	Himself	Main Cast
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"
Family Tools	Berrick	Episode: "Pilot"
2015	World's Funniest	Himself/Panelist	Episode: "Gravity: It Kinda Sucks"
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore	Himself/Panelist	Episode: "Racist Dr Seuss & Nebraska Death Penalty"
2017	Idiotest	Himself	Episode: "Episode #4.1"
@midnight	Himself	Episode: "April 27, 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"
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"
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
Celebrity Family Feud	Himself/Contestant	Episode: "Episode #9.4"
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
Hailey's On It!	Eddie Denoga (voice)	Episode: "The Biggest Luger"
::

Stand-up specials

::data[format=table]

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

References

References

1. "Biography - The Official Website of Comedian JO KOY".
2. Weatherford, Mike. (August 21, 2009). "INTERVIEWS: Comic Jo Koy finds funny material right at home without going for usual targets". Las Vegas Review Journal.
3. "Jo Koy Facebook page".
4. "JO KOY Took 16 Family Members to the Philippines".
5. Nguyen, Joe. (June 19, 2008). "Face2Face with Jo Koy". AsiaXpress.com.
6. Welby, Augustus. (September 12, 2019). "Comedian Jo Koy Gambled Everything For His Career–And It Paid Off". [[Beat Magazine]] (Beat.com.au).
7. Tusing, David. (January 18, 2020). "Jo Koy in Dubai: 'Netflix Changed Everything'". [[GulfNews.com]].
8. "Jo Koy: In His Elements".
9. Tagncay, Jazz. (July 29, 2022). "Jo Koy, Dan Lin Close Inaugural Rise for Comedy Festival With $75,000 Donation to Filipino Nonprofit".
10. (2025-09-16). "Major U.S. comedians set to perform in Saudi Arabia urged not to help cover up "abuses of a repressive regime" - CBS News".
11. (2025-09-23). "Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Comedy Festival Whitewashes Abuses {{!}} Human Rights Watch".
12. Team, Fact. (2025-09-18). "Everything we know about the first Riyadh Comedy Festival".
13. "Tour Dates".
14. Grobar, Matt. (December 21, 2023). "Jo Koy To Host 81st Golden Globes". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
15. (January 8, 2024). "Twitter Had a Lot to Say About Jo Koy's Painfully Awkward Golden Globes Monologue".
16. "Jo Koy's Biggest Mistake at the Golden Globes".
17. (January 7, 2024). "Jo Koy's Golden Globes Monologue Might Send the Writers Back on Strike". Vulture.
18. (January 8, 2024). "Jo Koy Couldn't Stay the Course".
19. (January 8, 2024). "Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Booed During Monologue, Blames His Writers".
20. (January 8, 2024). "The Golden Globes Monologue Was Bad—But One Joke in Particular Sank Jo Koy".
21. "Jo Koy responds to 'sexist' Taylor Swift Golden Globes jokes".
22. (January 8, 2024). "Jo Koy's Monologue in Full as Golden Globes Host Savaged Online".
23. "Jo Koy's Golden Globes opening monologue met with blank stares: 'I got the gig 10 days ago!'". USA Today.
24. (January 8, 2024). "Golden Globes host Jo Koy shades Robert De Niro with joke about becoming father aged 79".
25. (January 8, 2024). "Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Sparks Fierce Backlash: 'Disaster'".
26. (January 8, 2024). "See '1923' Stars Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford React to Jo Koy's "Cringeworthy" Golden Globes Monologue".
27. (January 8, 2024). "17 Celebrities Who Clearly Couldn't Hide How Much They Didn't Like The Golden Globes Opening Monologue".
28. (January 8, 2024). "Golden Globes Host Jo Koy Confronts Bad Reviews, Admits Taylor Swift Joke Was 'Weird' and 'Flat': 'I'd Be Lying' If I Said Backlash 'Doesn't Hurt'".
29. (January 10, 2024). "Steve Martin Is Told He's 'Out of His League' After Defending Jo Koy Golden Globes Gig: 'Let the Women Take This One'".
30. (January 9, 2024). "Jo Koy Defended by Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin After Golden Globes Backlash: "Hosting Gigs Are Just Brutal"".
31. (January 9, 2024). "Howard Stern, Kevin Hart Defend Jo Koy: 'Hollywood Has No Sense of Humor About Itself'".
32. (August 10, 2022). "Jo Koy Names His Stand-Up Heroes, and the Choices Might Surprise You".
33. (October 18, 2022). "Comedian Jo Koy leads 75 Most Influential Filipino Americans list".
34. (December 20, 2023). "Meet Jo Koy's No. 1 fan: His son Joseph Herbert Jr.". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
35. France, Lisa Respers. (September 28, 2021). "Chelsea Handler and Jo Koy are Instagram official". CNN.
36. "Jo Koy Says He's 'Single' After Chelsea Handler Breakup: 'Our Split Was Beautiful' (Exclusive)".
37. (December 20, 2023). "Meet Jo Koy's No. 1 fan: His son Joseph Herbert Jr.". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].
38. (January 17, 2023). "Jo Koy heartbroken over the death of his stepfather Frederick Harrison". [[GMA Integrated News]].
39. Qin, Amy. (October 22, 2024). "Filipino American Voters Could Decide Key Races in Nevada". The New York Times.
40. (January 15, 2018). "For comic Jo Koy, family humor trumps politics". SFGate.
41. (January 25, 2023). "Standup Comedian Jo Koy Starts Training BJJ With Ivan Jennings".
42. (July 12, 2024). "Rhythmic taps of tradition: An afternoon with a manbabatek in Baguio". [[Rappler]].
43. (August 23, 2023). "Everything You Need to Know About ''Leo''".
44. Milligan, Mercedes. (November 3, 2022). "'Reindeer in Here' Announces Sledful of Stars for Voice Cast".
45. One PH. (2025-04-07). "Jo Koy, kasama sa Hollywood film na shinoot sa Palawan {{!}} One Balita Pilipinas".

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