This weekend, Nikki Glaser stepped onto the Golden Globes stage. Her monologue, however, was clearly light on politics. That said, Donald Trump and ICE jokes had already been written.
After the ceremony, Glaser revealed that several of her punchlines would have taken a dig at President Trump. There would also be a handful of politically charged bits, which were all scrapped before showtime. The reason was that she knew that even a good joke can go wrong when the room isn’t ready to laugh about a topic.
On The Howard Stern Show, Glaser explained that she was too focused on striking the “right tone” for the Golden Globes. This was especially because the ceremony took place amid nationwide protests and an increasingly explosive political climate.
When Stern asked why politics were almost entirely missing from her monologue, Glaser said: “It’s not funny.”
Nikki Glaser crushed Golden Globe roast:
– “Ozempic’s biggest night!”
– “You’re all so famous and powerful. You can do anything, except tell the country who to vote for.”
– “The Bear. The Penguin. Baby Reindeer, these aren’t just things in RFK’s freezer.” pic.twitter.com/DKVPgEPhhH
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) January 6, 2025
Turns out Steve Martin had also sent her a gag. The joke would have included the punchline that Beverly Hilton would soon be renamed as the “Trump Beverly Hilton,” which refers to the controversy surrounding the renaming of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. While Glaser found that joke funny, she ultimately decided to cut it as well.
“It was like, you just don’t say that guy’s name right now. I just want to give it space.”
Later, Martin agreed with that decision and told her that she was right to cut it.
Another bit would have played on ICE, by which we mean both the frozen kind and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Glaser wanted to joke about the bar running out of ice before declaring that she hates ICE altogether. But she told Stern: “It just felt like, oh, even that’s just being too trivial. It’s hard to strike the right tone.”
On the other hand, celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Natasha Lyonne, and Wanda Sykes used the Golden Globes red carpet to protest recent ICE shootings. They sported “ICE OUT” and “BE GOOD” pins in honor of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by ICE in Minneapolis.
Mark Ruffalo, Jean Smart, Wanda Sykes, and Natasha Lyonne wore a “Be Good” pin at the #GoldenGlobes.
It pays tribute to Renee Nicole Good, the woman shot by an ICE agent earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/SuDDfoq2mA
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 12, 2026
Glaser still kept a jab at CBS, which was also airing the Globes!
“The award for most editing goes to CBS News,” she quipped during the broadcast. “America’s newest place to ‘see B.S. news.’” With this, she shed light on the controversy over a reportedly shelved 60 Minutes segment about immigration enforcement.
Maybe knowing when not to joke is the strongest comedic skill?
NEXT UP: Nikki Glaser Roasts Hollywood’s Elite With Bold Epstein Joke at Golden Globes
