Ricky Gervais urged to return as Golden Globes host after ‘painful’ Jo Koy debut: ‘I miss Ricky!’

Golden Globes viewers have urged Ricky Gervais to return as host of the annual awards ceremony following this year’s do.

Comedian Jo Koy was the man tasked with overseeing proceedings on Sunday evening after accepting the gig at short notice.

But his opening monologue and subsequent jokes left plenty to be desired among viewers who branded the entire speech as “painful” and “dumb”.

In it, Koy took aim at Taylor Swift and her romance with NFL-playing beau Travis Kelce as well as Robert De Niro over becoming a dad at 80.

He was also criticised for saying Barbie was a film about a “plastic doll with big boobies” as he compared it to fellow box office smash, Oppenheimer.

Koy’s routine fell so flat, however, he himself even addressed it while on stage.

The comedian aimed the blame at his writers at he went off-script during his monologue as he criticised the lack of laughter in the room.

After one joke hit a bum note, Koy fumed: “Some I wrote, some other people wrote. Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue? Shut up!

“You’re kidding me, right? I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”

The reception was a stark contrast to Gervais’ Golden Globes routines, most famously his 2020 routine in which he unleashed a blistering take on Hollywood’s elite.

WATCH NOW: Jo Koy scolded for Taylor Swift joke 

Now, it seems several fans are keen for Gervais to return to issue his no-holds-barred take on Hollywood next year.

On X, formerly Twitter, one viewer wrote: “If the Golden Globes want to halve their audience every year, they should just keep not inviting Ricky Gervais to host. #GoldenGlobes.”

A second begged: “Can we get Ricky Gervais to host again next year? #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2024.”

Meanwhile, a third slammed: “Not sure if it’s the nap I took that caused me to miss the first hour of the Golden Globes but this feels like a dumpster fire of epic proportions. The jokes are dumb and everything is just….dumb and the host guy makes me yearn for the hosting days of Ricky Gervais #GoldenGlobes.”

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“Oh they’re definitely going to try and get Ricky Gervais to host again next year #GoldenGlobes,” added a fourth while a fifth hit out: “Ugh Joe Koy is not a good host. I miss Ricky Gervais….he offends people better #GoldenGlobes.”

“Soooo can we get Ricky Gervais to host again next year??? This is bad. #GoldenGlobes,” a sixth weighed in while another raged: “#GoldenGlobes. This host is painful. Who is he? Bring back Ricky. #rickygervais.”

However, there was some support for Koy after his debut presenting stint, including from one viewer who argued: “I think Joe Koy was ok. They did not receive him well for some reason. Maybe most don’t know him. #GoldenGlobes.”

A second similarly sided with the comedian: “Ok gonna say for anyone who cares: in my opinion, tonight’s Golden Globes performance is NOT indicative of Jo Koy’s stand up performance as a whole. I saw him on tour and laughed so hard that I cried. #GoldenGlobes #JoKoy that being said yeah tonight was rough.” (sic)