In what was perhaps the least surprising moment of the evening, Golden Globes hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler made a Bill Cosby joke.
The build-up included sharp ribbing of The Interview and teasing of George Clooney. But Fey and Poehler saved their biggest joke for the end. It began innocuously enough with a riff on Into the Woods. As it seemed to wind down, Poehler recounted plot points of the musical, ending with the fairytale that in some iterations includes an assault: “In Into the Woods, Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from a tower for her prince. And Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby.”
Cue Jessica Chastain’s shocked reaction.
Jessica Chastain with the best reaction to Tina and Amy's Cosby jokes. pic.twitter.com/mTMs1j4cVr
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 12, 2015
And while the joke could have ended there, Fey and Poehler each offered their own interpretation of how Cosby would speak out about the allegations, euphemistically described as “putting the pills in the people”.
The majority of Twitter reacted positively and cheered the joke.
golden globes 2015 aka one big subtweet to bill cosby and north korea
— Tracy Clayton (@brokeymcpoverty) January 12, 2015
A little late, but it was great watching a room of professionals panic while not knowing how to react to a Bill Cosby joke. #GoldenGIobes
— sarah (@sarahelizahoff) January 12, 2015
Hoping the last ten minutes are just Cosby jokes from Amy and Tina #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobeAwards2015
— Stan Garb (@StanGarb) January 12, 2015
Lets remember that Tina and Amy were making fun of COSBY not the girls who were RAPED #GoldenGlobes
— Hails✨ (@haileyababay) January 12, 2015
Amy's Bill Cosby is better. #GoldenGlobes
— stacia l. brown (@slb79) January 12, 2015
No, rape isn't funny, but Tina & Amy pointing out this horridness on the network where Cosby reigned is powerful. #GoldenGlobes
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) January 12, 2015
While usually awards show host don’t appear too frequently after the monologue, some viewers wondered if Fey and Poehler were being kept off the stage as a result of their Cosby joke.
Are Tina and Amy not allowed back on stage because of the Cosby jokes? #GoldenGlobes
— Nicci A (@Running_short) January 12, 2015
Did Amy and Tina get pulled for the Cosby jokes? #GoldenGlobes #caseofthemissinghosts
— Greta Fure (@gretafure) January 12, 2015
Not everyone was pleased with the joke.
Tina and Amy did a great job in the Globes opening...Except for the Cosby jokes. #GoldenGlobes
— Edward Lazellari (@EdwardLazellari) January 12, 2015
The joke about Bill Cosby was completely tasteless. Being a comedian is no excuse to lack class. #GoldenGlobes
— Tiffany Montgomery (@tmontgomeryrn) January 12, 2015
To Tina and Amy: Screw you. Joking about Bill Cosby is disgraceful. If the allegations are true or not, it is not appropriate to joke about.
— adam (@vikingrunner22) January 12, 2015
Other viewers pointed out that they found Fey and Poehler’s joke disrespectful to the women at the centre of the allegations.
Oh, I forgot to say: though I love Tina and Amy, the Bill Cosby schtick was 100% tasteless. Drugging and assaulting women? Not joke-worthy.
— Molly Ooten (@mollyclaire08) January 12, 2015
I don't suppose that when Amy and Tina wrote the Bill Cosby rape joke they considered how the victims would perceive or be affected by it?
— Heather Ure (@riotheatherrr) January 12, 2015
Fey and Poehler’s joke came in the wake of Cosby addressing the allegations against him while performing his stand-up show in Canada. When a female audience member stood up to get a drink, she offered to buy Cosby one, to which he replied: “You have to be careful about drinking around me.”
To date, more than 20 women alleged Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them.
