It's controversial/ Greta Gerwig reacts to Golden Globes host Jo Koy's sexist joke on Barbie: He’s not wrong

This year’s Golden Globes took place on Sunday, January 7 in Los Angeles. While shows like Succession and The Bear led the television categories, Oppenheimer was the most honoured film at the event. Regretfully, Jo Koy didn't have as much success with his night as many of his jokes didn't sit well with the audience. One of them was his remark about Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which he called a film based on "a plastic doll with big boobs." In a recent interview, the filmmaker reacted to the sexist jokes. 

Greta Gerwig addresses Jo Koy's Barbie jokes

In a conversation with Radio 4’s Today, Gerwig was asked about her response to Koy’s jokes on Barbie. The filmmaker decided to take a high road and didn’t seem to mind his dig at her movie. She said, “Well, he’s not wrong. 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."

Gerwig further went on to explain the origin of Barbie, which was inspired by its creator, Ruth Handler’s choice to project a grown woman. The Little Women director added, “Barbie by her very construction has no character, no story, she’s there to be projected upon. The insight that (Barbie creator) Ruth Handler had when she was watching her daughter play with baby dolls, is she realised, ‘My daughter doesn’t want to pretend to be a mother. She wants to pretend to be a grown woman.”

Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin on Jo Koy’s hosting gig 

Gerwig is one of the many voices that have spoken their opinions about Koy's jokes, which have drawn criticism, especially the one about Taylor Swift, and his historic hosting role as the second Asian person to lead the ceremony from the stage. 

Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin, two actor-comedians who have hosted a variety of shows themselves, complimented him on the performance although acknowledging that playing to an awards room can be challenging.