Last Sunday, the 2025 Golden Globe winners were crowned amid the 2025 TV schedule, and hosting the event was comedian Nikki Glaser. All in all, the entertainer did a solid job in that capacity, as she managed to generate plenty of laughs with her monologue and kept the show humorous. Glaser took some solid swings when it came to her material but, in some respects, she also held back. Following the broadcast, she revealed some of the jokes she cut from her opening address, and Nicole Kidman and the Holocaust were among the topics.
The people in attendance seemed mostly pleased with the barbs that the stand-up comedian delivered during her set. As evidenced by the I Feel Pretty alum’s approach, she knows how to read a room. That’s why, as she explained on The Howard Stern Show, she opted to avoid certain quips while preparing her material. While speaking with the veteran shock jock, she explained what that collaboration was like:
Some of these would get pitched, and we’re like, ‘We can’t say that on CBS. We cannot say that to these people’s faces.’ So I’d go, ‘Move it to the Stern file. We can do it on Stern.’
On that note, Nikki Glaser went on to reveal a number of jokes that were omitted from her monologue. As she mentioned in the YouTube clip, she did indeed poke fun at Nicole Kidman and mention the Holocaust during the show, the original jokes she had were a bit blunter. Check out several of them below:
- "You know, if Adrian Brody could go back in time, he would thank baby Hitler for his career."
- "The Wild Robot is nominated tonight, and by that I mean Nicole Kidman after two white wines."
- "Think of it, this is the last time all of you will be in the same room together before the Diddy trial."
- The Golden Globes is the biggest show where you can see the biggest stars in movies and television joined together with the same goal: getting out of here tonight before Dax Shepard asks them to do his podcast."
- "Nicolas Cage is here tonight, looking well-rested after a night of sleeping in Elvis' coffin"/"Nicolas Cage is here, and so is the band of skeletons that follows him playing ragtime jazz."
A part of me really wishes to know just how those quips would’ve gone over had they been performed live before the audience at the Beverly Hilton. Still, a key part of comedy is knowing one’s audience and, based on the responses she received, the Someday You’ll Die performer understood the assignment. That might have come as a relief to some Globes viewers, who roasted previous host Jo Koy over his monologue around this time last year.
Based on what she said before the show, Nikki Glaser put a lot of time and effort into her preparation. Glaser sought advice from other hosts, including provocative former host Ricky Gervais. The British comic advised his successor to be herself and not think of herself as one of the Hollywood bigwigs in attendance. And, while there were more than a few discarded jokes, there were some topics that the Trainwreck star opted not to touch entirely. For instance, Glaser didn’t mention the Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni legal situation.
I’d imagine that hosting a show isn’t easy, and that’s probably doubly so when you’re a comedian who may not see yourself fitting within the framework of the Hollywood celebrity landscape. But, overall, I was quite impressed with Nikki Glaser and, aside from a BTS wardrobe malfunction, her gig went off without a hitch. So comics that follow in her footsteps may want to take note when it comes to stage presence and most importantly, joke selection.
Paramount+ subscription holders can stream the 82nd Golden Globe Awards and, if you don’t have a membership, check it out on CBS’ website.
