Nikki Glaser kicked off the 2026 Golden Globe Awards with her signature racy sense of humor.
The comedian, 41, opened the Sunday, January 11, awards show at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton with a monologue filled with timely jokes about the night’s nominees.
“Leonardo DiCaprio is here for One Man Bun After Another,” Glaser said, referring to DiCaprio’s nominated movie One Battle After Another. “How good was Leo in One Battle After Another? It’s insane, so good. What a career you’ve had, countless iconic performances, you’ve worked with ever great director, you’ve won three Golden Globes, an Oscar — most important thing is you were able to accomplish all of that before your girlfriend turned 30. I mean, it’s just insane.”
DiCaprio, 51, has been dating model Vittoria Ceretti, who is 27 years old, since 2023 and appeared to laugh off Glaser’s dig.
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“Leo, I’m sorry I made that joke, it’s cheap,” she apologized. “I tried not to, but like we don’t know anything else about you. There’s nothing else, like, open up. I searched [and] the most in-depth interview you’ve ever given was in Teen Beat magazine in 1991. Is your favorite food still, ‘pasta and more pasta?’ Look it up, that’s real.”
After nodding to DiCaprio’s star-studded love life, Glaser turned her attention to Sinners star Michael B. Jordan.
“We can’t talk about movies without talking about Sinners,” she added. “I mean, Sinners single-handedly saved Warner Bros. for about a month, but still. Michael B. Jordan is nominated for Best Actor, so good, and in Sinners, [he] played two brothers.”
Glaser subsequently noted that she “couldn’t believe” she got to watch two versions of Jordan, 38, on the big screen.
“When I saw that, I was like, ‘Nikki-be-jerkin’ because that was awesome,” she quipped. “I’m sorry, Michael. Why did I make that joke? [You’re here with] your mom. I should not have said that to you. That should have been [in] a DM. My mistake. I love you, you’re amazing.”
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CBS announced in March 2025 that Glaser would return to host the Golden Globes in 2026 after making her debut in January 2025.
“Hosting the Golden Globes this year was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had in my career,” Glaser said in a March 2025 statement. “I can’t wait to do it again and this time in front of the team from The White Lotus, who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in season 4 as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a shadowy past.”
Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne added at the time, “Nikki Glaser brought a refreshing spark and fearless wit to the Golden Globes stage this year. Her sharp humor and bold presence set the tone for an unforgettable night, making the ceremony feel vibrant and most of all fun.”
Prior to hosting the 2025 ceremony, Glaser told E! News that she rehearsed her monologue 93 times in preparation for her hosting responsibilities.
“[Tonight] will be my 94th time telling some version of this,” she revealed on the red carpet. “I mean, it’s still changed even from the last time I told it until now, so we’re constantly making edits, trying to top jokes, trying to strike the right note and tone for the evening. But a lot of work has gone into it.”
Despite her extensive preparations, Glaser clarified that her monologue would still include improvised moments.
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“I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, she’s just reciting some monologue.’ I practice so much so that when I get up there, I’m off-book and I can just be in it,” she explained. “And then that’s when stuff’s gonna start coming out that wasn’t planned. And so now I know it so well that I can be myself up there.”
When Glaser took the stage later that night, she joked about Ben Affleck, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco and more celebrities.
“Selena Gomez is here with Benny Blanco, her new fiancé, and Benny Blanco is here because of the genie who granted him that wish,” Glaser quipped, calling Blanco, 37, a “lucky guy.”
Glaser later revealed that she received Blanco’s permission to tell the joke during her monologue.
“I don’t burn people unless I’m hired to do it,” she said on the “Armchair Expert” podcast in February 2025. “Even the Golden Globes wasn’t, like, a burn fest.”
Glaser added that the attendees “weren’t signing up for a roast,” so she took a “very gentle” approach to her remarks.
Glaser believed the “worst thing” she said was about Blanco, so she sent him a “voice memo of the joke” ahead of time. Blanco was “cool with it” but decided to “run it by Selena” too.
“So I got permission,” she recalled. “I would have never had done that joke [otherwise].”
