Jo Koy to host Golden Globes awards show

LOS ANGELES

Comedian and actor Jo Koy will host the newly revamped Golden Globes, organizers announced on Dec. 21, as the U.S. awards show seeks a clean slate.

The stand-up, who starred in "Easter Sunday" and Disney's "Haunted Mansion," said he was excited to be overseeing the party that kicks off three months of movie industry ceremonies.

"I've stepped onto a lot of stages around the world in my career, but this one is going to be extra special," he said. "This is that moment where I get to make my Filipino family proud."

The Golden Globes is hoping its 81st edition will be something of a reboot for a brand that has spent the last few years in Tinseltown's doghouse.

A 2021 Los Angeles Times expose showed that the awards' voting body - the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) - had no Black members.

That revelation triggered the airing of a wide range of other long-simmering criticisms about the HFPA, including allegations of amateurism and corruption.

Earlier this year, the awards' assets and trademarks were purchased and overhauled by a group of private investors including U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly, and the HFPA was disbanded.

Hollywood-based former HFPA members have been banned from accepting gifts, and are now paid a salary to vote for their favorite films and shows.

More than 200 non-member (and unpaid) voters from 75 countries around the world have also been added to the Globes mix.

This month organizers revealed "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," the unlikely pair of films that dominated the box office and spawned countless internet memes this summer, topped its nominations.

The 81st Golden Globes ceremony will take place in Beverly Hills on Jan. 7.