Nikki Glaser confesses her Golden Globes joke about Benny Blanco was 'mean'

Time of India

24-04-2025

Actress-comedian
Nikki Glaser
has assured that she's not as mean as some people may think. While her jokes may triigger some, at the end of the day, she's just her job. However, she also believes in issuing clarifications for jokes that seem harsh.
The 40-year-old comedian recently revealed one of her Golden Globes jokes weighed a bit more heavily on her than others, reports 'People' magazine.
She said during the TIME100 Summit, "I think I get a reputation of being mean because of the roast, but I'm hired to (be) mean for those".
Glaser, previously participated in 2024's The Roast of Tom Brady. Switching gears, she added, "Golden Globes, it's not my job to ruin their night".
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Undo
As per 'People', Glaser caught heat for using audience members Benny Blanco and
Selena Gomez
's relationship as the punchline to one of her jokes in her opening monologue during the 2025 Golden Globes in January. The 'Only Murders in the Building' actress, 32, was nominated for her work in the Hulu comedy and Netflix's 'Emilia Perez'.
"Selena Gomez is here with Benny Blanco, her new fiance, and Benny Blanco is here because of the genie who granted him that wish", Glaser said, before calling the music producer, 37, a "lucky guy".
During Wednesday's TIME100 Summit, Glaser admitted, "The Golden Globes, I feel like the one joke that I would've been like, 'That was kind of mean,' was, I said that Selena Gomez is here because of Emilia Perez and Benny Blanco is here because the genie granted him that one wish and looking back, I was like that was pretty mean".
She continued, "Because everyone's like he's not attractive enough for her and for me, I never looked at them and actually thought that. I feel like she won too with it, like I think he's really cool".
The comedian said the joke didn't come from "a mean place", which made her feel that her punch lines were okay to say.
According to Glaser, she had Blanco's blessing before sharing the joke with the CBS live show's reported 9.3 million viewers.
"I texted him before, too", she said. "I got his number and was like, 'Hey, you don't know me, but I'm hosting this thing. Can I say that you're there because a genie granted you a wish?'".
Luckily for Glaser, the 'Call Me When You Break Up' hitmakers were good sports.
"He was like, "That's hilarious, let me run it by Selena", and I was like 'Hell yeah', and then we were all waiting in the writer's room like, 'When is he going to write?' and he wrote back and was like, 'Selena thinks it's great'", she said. "So they gave me permission".
She also credited fellow comedian
Jimmy Kimmel
for telling her, "If you're worried about a joke, and how it's going to go over, just ask them".