Ken Jeong and Joel McHale take subtle jab at Jo Koy at the Emmys
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT The presenters poked fun at the comedian's Golden Globes monologue during Monday's Emmys telecast.

Jo Koy's Golden Globes monologue made a subtle cameo at the 2023 Emmys on Monday night.

Presenters and former Community costars Ken Jeong and Joel McHale took the stage to present the award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, where they alluded to Koy's monologue misfire heard 'round 130 countries.

"Reality TV competitions are better than they’ve ever been. In fact, reality is the most noble of callings — even more than medicine, and I should know," Jeong, a former physician who left the medical field to pursue an acting career, said on stage.

"Oh, here we go," McHale quipped. "You were thrown out of medicine, okay? He killed a guy. He killed a guy!"

"That's not on the prompter! You can't say that," Jeong interjected. "The instruments that almost killed that dude were the ones the nurses left in. The ones that saved his life, I left in. Besides, I only had the gig for 10 days at that point, so give me a break."

The bit was in reference to Koy, who bombed during his Golden Globes monologue and blamed his writers. "Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago," he said. "You want a perfect monologue? You're kidding me, right? I wrote some of these, and they're the ones you're laughing at."

Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images

Jeong and McHale's bit also featured a delightful cutaway shot to their fellow Community costar Donald Glover, nominated for his work on Amazon Prime's Swarm. Glover — who should've been invited on stage for the reunion, frankly — was all smiles at the bit. The duo then presented the award to RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Comedian Chelsea Handler, who previously dated Koy, also took a swipe at her ex while hosting the Critics Choice Awards the night prior to the Emmys. Discussing her love for older men in her monologue, Handler said, “Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn’t here tonight, but that’s not gonna stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball. Thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it.”

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