(Full disclosure: Ruben V. Nepales is a Golden Globe Awards voter.)

LOS ANGELES, USA – I thought crab mentality was on the wane but sadly, with the online bashing of Jo Koy following his hosting gig at the 81^st Golden Globe Awards, it has reared its ugly head again.

While many Filipinos came out on the Internet in full and overwhelming support of Jo Koy, other Pinoys gleefully bashed the Filipino American comedian and actor.

Some Filipinos are happily having a field day denigrating and attacking Jo Koy on their social media accounts. As they say in Tagalog, “Kinareer ng ibang tao ang pag-atake kay Jo Koy (Some made it a ‘career’ to attack Jo Koy).”

I’ve been seeing posts by people who are enthusiastically sharing any piece disparaging Jo Koy’s performance almost every hour for several days now. The vitriol these folks are endlessly sharing and are capable of writing is disgusting.

Some people who just do not like Jo Koy to begin with jumped on the bandwagon.

Some folks who harbor ill feelings against Jo Koy simply because he did not endorse their political candidate in the past are among the most actively engaged and vociferous in insulting him. For these folks, it has been a stream of successive posts lambasting Jo Koy, the first Filipino to host the Globes in its 81-year history.

It has become a personal vendetta for these people but under the guise of political correctness.

They are endlessly haranguing Jo Koy. Where were these people when Ricky Gervais made the snarkiest comments when he hosted the Globes?

These people are sharing anything they come across online that’s negative about Jo Koy’s performance. So they are also posting pieces by some of the xenophobic mainstream white media who have always despised the Golden Globes because it is voted on by “those foreigners” who write for “obscure publications.”

Many of us voters work for the most prestigious media outlets in our respective countries but for some of these racist white media establishment figures, they always try to dismiss us or put us down just because we are “foreigners.”

One of my Facebook followers even happily shared a newspaper piece criticizing Jo Koy and the Globes: “The Golden Globes, the phoniest of the (almost) major screen awards, having briefly died on the operating table…”

Of course, these same publications latched on to any opportunity to condemn the Globes. They have been trying to kill the Globes for decades now.

Despite the complete overhaul of the Globes, which now has the most stringent ethics rules for members, and we are now the most diverse among the award-giving bodies, some of these folks in the mainstream white media continue to persecute us.

Which other awards body forbids gifts to its voters? The Globes bans gifts to voters but many in the establishment media persist or refuse to acknowledge the drastic changes that have been instituted.

“In fairness,” as they like to say in the Philippines, many defended and cheered Jo Koy. On my social media pages alone, especially on Facebook, hundreds posted support for him.

Noted figures spoke up. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ronnie del Carmen commented, “After the day. What the tide brings. Celebrate the context, there is love and support for Jo Koy. Love you, my friend.”

Veteran journalist Thelma Sioson San Juan wrote, “Netizens the world over are the same – whether Pinoys or Koreans or Americans or Latinos – they use their voice – to bitch! Their voice could be of wisdom – or mean-ness. ‘Crab mentality,’ you realize, is really not unique to Pinoys.”

“Oh well, tomorrow is another day; or given this era’s speed, just wait another sec. As Dennis Ladaw writes — ‘Jo Koy’ will survive all this.’”

Giji Kocher (aka Djhoanna Garcia): “To each his own. Haters will always hate no matter what. But nonetheless you cannot discount the fact that he (Jo Koy) is now trending tremendously and the GG (Golden Globe) ratings are far greater than the previous years.”

“I remain a big fan of Jo Koy. Congratulations to the HFPA [now known as the Golden Globes] and Jo Koy – who is such a talented and good person for the guts to get into the brutal arena of mostly feeling entitled entities. Mabuhay ka, Jo Koy!!! Mahal ka namin!!!”

Pia Gladys Perey: “It’s sad, crab mentality is real. One day we are celebrating Jo Koy, the next day criticizing and bashing him for doing his job.”

Caroline Kennedy reacted, “It seems he is being judged as a ‘Filipino’ stand-up comedian rather than as, simply, a stand-up comedian. To be invited to host such an event should be praise enough for any stand-up comedian. But to be judged simply because he is half-Filipino is unfair.”

Girlie Rodis chimed in, “With only 10 days to prepare and all other comics turning it down, Jo Koy accepted the challenge of hosting the Golden Globes. It was never going to be easy.”

“But he stepped forward and took the gig. If he had triumphed, there would have been celebrations in all Filipino communities claiming him as our very own but he did not.”

“So now we have all these hometown critics with their own reviews on why he sucked. Like they could have done so much better.”

Lea Dizon Breault remarked, “Not gonna lie, it kinda bothers me how delighted a lot of Filipinos are to rag on the host. It’s like they are so gigil (yes that word that is difficult to translate) that he didn’t quite succeed at what he set out to do. Other hosts have bombed before, but they were not met with this much disdain. Maybe we can try to be kinder and understanding.”

Don Mike Mendoza posted, “As someone who hosts – events, shows, a podcast, broadcasts – and built a brand and a public platform off of it, hear me: HOSTING IS FUCKING HARD. PERIOD.”

“Have a little compassion, and to the Filipinos letting their trauma speak for them in their inner-toxic Tito/Tita voice: SHAME ON YOU for hanging your brother out to face the, quite frankly mis-aimed, criticism alone because he wasn’t med-school perfect enough for you.”

Lora Nicolas Olaes shared, “I don’t expect the rest of the world to, because the internet is not a kind place but at least to my fellow Pinoys, please be kind.”

“Jo Koy is out there kicking down doors for us in Hollywood, and getting our people in places we’ve never even been considered before.”

Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin, who have hosted the Oscars, also spoke out in defense of Jo Koy.

Overlooked as a result of the Jo Koy bashing are the Globes’ excellent choices in its winners. Did anyone in the establishment media acknowledge that? They were too busy cranking out negative stories about Jo Koy and the Globes and Filipinos who delight in anything to pull us all down rushed to share these pieces.

These crab mentality parasites in social media did not care to highlight that Asians won big at the Globes. They were too busy pillorying “Josep” to give a damn about Ali Wong of Beef making history as the first Asian to win Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television.

Ali’s Beef costar, Steven Yeun, bagged the male equivalent of that category, following Darren Criss’ milestone triumph as the first Filipino and Asian to conquer this field for The Assassination of Gianna Versace: American Crime Story in 2019.

And with Beef bagging Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television, it also made history as the first show starring and created by Asian Americans to cinch this honor.

The Globes ceremonies was also star-studded, again successfully gathering Hollywood heavyweights and A-listers under one roof.

Ultimately, Jo Koy’s detractors and Globes naysayers, who have been trying to vanquish us “foreigners,” did not relish this good news. As Giji pointed out, the Globes’ ratings skyrocketed.

CBS, which aired the show, reported, “The 81^st Annual Golden Globe Awards averaged 9.4 million viewers, up +50% from last year, its largest audience since 2020, according to Nielsen time zone-adjusted fast national including Out of Home ratings for Sunday, Jan. 7.”

“Hollywood’s Party of the Year was the most-watched entertainment program Sunday. The show reached the largest live-streaming audience for an awards show across Paramount+ and other CBS platforms, since the 65th Annual Grammy Awards aired in February 2023.”

“In fact, last night it was the second largest live-streamed CBS special event on Paramount+ ever in terms of AMA (average minute audience) and reach.”

These figures eloquently counter what all the crabs and haters who have been foaming at the mouth these past few days want: decimate Jo Koy and those “foreigners” at the Globes. – Rappler.com