The Hollywood Reporter raved that she “actually seemed like she was enjoying the opportunity,” and the New York Times praised her for a “stellar monologue” and kicking off the night with a “celebratory, fun tone” that hasn’t always been the case for Golden Globes hosts of past.
But it turns out one of Nikki’s biggest jokes was never supposed to be included, and she decided in real time to tell it without notifying anyone.
While on stage finishing up her monologue, Nikki said she noticed that what was supposed to be her last joke, which was about why the crowd didn’t know they were making history, wasn’t working as an endpiece. “It looked fine on TV. It just, in the room, it didn’t feel like a closing bit,” she said. “It didn’t have the power and the laughter at the end that I felt like I want to leave on that note.”
So Nikki unexpectedly told a joke about tequila brands that she’d workshopped previously but ultimately cut from the monologue: “Before we start handing out awards, I do want to remind you if you do lose tonight, please just keep in mind that the point of making art is not to win an award. The point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.”
“The last joke…I look back at it now. This was insane that I did it. I did it from memory, and it was a joke I used to flub all the time telling,” she told Stern. “There was no safety net, and it’s my last joke. If you fail on your last joke and fuck up the wording, then you failed. It’s everything.”
While reciting her last joke, Nikki noted she had to think ahead about what she needed to say next so she didn’t mess it up since it wasn’t in the teleprompter. “That was wild. I can’t believe I did that,” she said. Good thing she did, because the joke was a hit and received applause as Nikki ended her monologue.
