Chelsea Handler Shades Ex Jo Koy in Her Critics Choice Awards Monologue

A week after Koy had a rough landing with his Golden Globes monologue, his ex has some fun during her own.

By Andrew Roberts

Chelsea Handler hosting the Critics Choice Awards for the second time must have a little sweet edge to it for the comedian. It comes just a week after ex-boyfriend Jo Koy had a rough flight hosting the Golden Globes.

While the pair are still friendly, at least it seems that way, Handler had to poke some fun at Koy's performance and the controversy that followed. "Thank you for laughing at that – my writers wrote it," Handler said at one point, mirroring Koy's own comment during his monologue that he labeled a "rookie move."

"Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn't here tonight," she said. "But that's not going to stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball." She also joked that she prefers older men, noting that names like Harrison Ford and Robe de Niro represent the perfect type: "Men who had been around since the railway was invented."

Handler also took a moment to single out the women who seemed to win out in 2023. "Women were victorious in all venues," she joked. "Barbie at the box office, Taylor Swift and Beyonce on their tours. Gwyneth Paltrow at that ski trial."

"This year proved that when given the opportunity, women show up for each other and dominate the culture. You could almost say it was the year of women," she continued. "I mean women can say that. Bill Maher would say, 'Is she still talking?'"

"With Barbie, Greta [Gerwig] became the highest-grossing female director of all time," she added. "So again, over $1.4 billion at the box officer. So while David Zaslav was wearing a zip-up vest and sailing off to Saint Tropez, one very talented woman swooped in with a movie about female empowerment and saved the entire [movie] industry."

Handler is definitely comfortable in this role with her second tour through as host. She flowed well, had plenty of barbs in her jokes, and was always just a short moment away from being ready for action.

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