Whoopi Goldberg defends Jo Koy after poorly received comic outing as Golden Globes host: 'These hosting gigs are cruel'

Whoopi Goldberg defended comedian Jo Koy on The View on Monday after he was panned for his performance at Sunday night's Golden Globe awards in Beverly Hills, California.

Koy's outing — in which he was slammed both by the public and online — was brought up during the Hot Topics segment of the ABC talk show, with Goldberg, 68, explaining that even though she hadn't seen the show, she empathized with Koy , 52, because she has the difficult assignment.

“These hosting gigs are brutal,” Goldberg said. “If you don't know the room, if you haven't been in these rooms before and you're pushed there, it's hit or miss.”

Goldberg defended Koy's talents as a performer, saying, “I love Jo Koy, he drives me crazy because he's funny.”

Goldberg said she wasn't aware of where Koy's set might have gone wrong on Sunday, but that it didn't detract from his overall comedic talents.

Koy's performance at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California was panned by audiences and online

“I don't know if it was the room, I don't know if it was the jokes, I didn't see it,” Goldberg said. “But I do know that he is so good when it comes to stand-ups and that it is not an easy job.”

Goldberg said she was on the wrong side of bad reviews during previous hosting stints.

“If you read the reviews of some of the gigs I've had where they wish me to go to the cornfields… it's not an easy gig,” she said.

Koy, who felt his opening monologue bombed, acknowledged the poor reception during the set, saying, “Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago, you want a perfect monologue?” Shut up.'

He added: 'Relax, I wrote a few and you'll laugh at them.'

His most notable, poorly received joke was aimed at Taylor Swift amid her heated relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

'The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? Less camera footage of Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes,” he said, to which the singer registered no reaction.

Elsewhere on the panel, the show's Ana Navarro said Koy “wasn't funny to her” during his Golden Globes outing, while Sara Haines said she was “nervous for” Koy because she thinks he's a talented comedian.

Goldberg said she wasn't aware of where his set Sunday might have gone wrong, but that it didn't detract from his overall comedic talents.

Goldberg said, “These hosting gigs are brutal. If you don't know the room, if you haven't been in these rooms before and you're pushed there, it's a hit.

Elsewhere on the panel, the show's Ana Navarro said Koy “wasn't funny to her” during his Golden Globes outing

Alyssa Farah Griffin praised Koy as one of her favorite past guests on the ABC show

Koy posed with a Golden Globe award in a promotional photo for the event

Haines added, “We must protect these national treasures called our comedians because life needs them. We have to stop locking them up and shielding them.”

Haines said the stars should not have scolded Koy for taking out celebrities like Taylor Swift, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Robert De Niro and Kevin Costner in his routine.

“In that room, Jo Koy is hitting,” she said. 'Nobody feels sorry. Just laugh.'

Alyssa Farah Griffin praised Koy as one of her favorite past guests on the ABC show, saying that because he is “such an inherently nice person… more frying doesn't come naturally to him.”

Referring to another well-known Globes host from the past, Griffin said English comedian Ricky Gervais “just goes in there and knocks people over.”

Griffin said she felt like Koy “got better as the night went on.”