Nikki Glaser Can’t Joke About 1 Star at the Golden Globes: ‘You Cannot Make Fun of America’s Sweetheart’
Nikki Glaser hosts the Golden Globes on Sunday, and has already warned fans that they shouldn’t expect to hear a joke about one celebrity. Glaser admitted that writing jokes for an awards show like the Globes is delicate work. While she doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, she’s expected to poke fun at people in the room. Almost everyone at the show is fair game except one star. She admitted people hate hearing jokes about a beloved celebrity.
Nikki Glaser said people don’t like to hear jokes about one celebrity
As Glaser prepares for the Golden Globes, she said that the way some celebrities might react to a joke is a point of concern for her. Still, she won’t ask anyone’s permission before writing jokes about them.
“There are certain people that I don’t know what I would say,” she told CBS Mornings. “It is almost like some of these jokes, you think about, OK, if I got their number, would I write them and ask them? Then I go, you know what? They might say no and I know the joke isn’t that mean, and … I would rather ask for forgiveness later at the after-party when they’re drunk.”
One celebrity has been a particular struggle for her.
“I’m trying out my monologue around L.A. at the clubs here, and just even any joke about Julia Roberts, they’re not there for,” she said. “You cannot make fun of America’s sweetheart.”
She admitted that if she does end up writing a joke about Roberts, it will likely be the one she’s worked the hardest on. She knows it could easily go over badly.
“Whatever I end up saying about her, it is the most fine-tuned joke I have worked on so hard because it is very delicate.”
Nikki Glaser shared her goals for writing jokes about celebrities at the Golden Globes
Glaser hosted the Golden Globes in 2025 and is returning for this year’s ceremony. She noted that writing jokes for the show requires her to strike a careful balance.
“You have to be very delicate about making jokes that aren’t going to ruin anyone’s night, but you also want to give the people at home … something to laugh at and you want to poke fun at the people that they’re dying for you to make fun of,” she explained.
She said she’s had the hardest time with her peers and Hollywood icons like Roberts.
“It is easy for me to take down like, you know, the newer batch of actresses and actors who are younger than me,” she said. “It is like, OK, I can make fun of you, I’m like a veteran. But when it’s like people I grew up admiring, it’s … oh, my gosh, it is so much … it is a different approach this year.”
She noted that writing jokes for the show has been “one of … the most difficult jobs I’ve ever done.”
She feels like she has a good monologue prepared
While Glaser admits it has not always been easy, she feels confident in the monologue she has. Even less than a week out, though, it’s not fully complete.
“I could do it tonight and feel like I have a solid monologue,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I still have five days to write more, so I’m looking forward to what it becomes. There’s a lot that can happen in the final moments when the writing team and I are all kind drained of any creativity. That’s when it starts to get loopy and weird. I’m excited for what comes out of that.”
The Golden Globes air from 8 -11 p.m. ET on CBS.
