However, Jo Koy told the LA Times, responding to this joke he made saying “What hurts the most is me just supporting Taylor, I support her, I love her work. I got nieces that I bought tickets for. There’s no ill intent in that joke,” he said. “The joke is about the NFL and how they keep using cutaways to [her]. And it’s an obvious reason why. I’m not saying anything that no one’s saying, and it’s obvious what that joke was.” Graphic by: Journey Quan

From grounded flights to award shows, here are three of the most important events that started or happened 2024

Less than a month into 2024, many notable events have occurred, including controversial jokes made by Jo Koy at the 81st Golden Globes, and the announcement of two horror films starring “Steamboat Willie.”

With the start of 2024, the “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse enters the public domain This means anyone can use “Steamboat Willie” without permission or citing from Disney. Since then, two Mickey Mouse horror movies have been announced, free of copyright infringement from the Walt Disney Company.

On Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport for Ontario, California. Only minutes after takeoff, at 16,000 feet above sea level, a door plug blew off the plane and caused an emergency landing back at Portland Airport. 

Alana Thogerson ‘24, who was boarding a different flight at the time said, “Alaska Airlines started checking all the planes, and all the [Boeing 737 Max 9s] were grounded. [When] we checked in, our flight was delayed.”

On Jan. 7, the 81st Golden Globe Awards took place. Pushback from viewers and attendees arose when host, Jo Koy, made jokes criticizing Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” such as “‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and ‘Barbie’ is [based] on a plastic doll with big boobies,” and,  “The key moment in ‘Barbie’ is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite and flat feet. Or what casting directors call character actor.” His jokes earned him many disappointed reactions.

Salene Dang ‘27 said, “Jo Koy’s comments were insensitive and I felt like he couldn’t read the room because you could tell that everyone was extremely uncomfortable.” 

Skyla Puget ‘27 said, “I think [Jo Koy] is immature and not very well spoken.” 

Despite Koy’s comments, “Barbie” went on to win the “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” as well as “Best Original Song” for Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?“ Other film awards given at the ceremony was “Drama Motion Picture” for “Oppenheimer,” “Animated Feature Film” for “The Boy and the Heron”  and “Musical or Comedy Motion Picture” for film “Poor Things.” Emma Stone was awarded “Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture,” Sarah Snook won “Best Actress in a Drama TV Series” and Keiran Culkin won “Best Actor in a Drama TV Series.”