5 Sharp Lines from Nikki Glaser That Defined Her Golden Globes Hosting Debut

Nikki Glaser kicked off Hollywood’s biggest event at the 2026 Golden Globes on Sunday evening when she made her second consecutive appearance as host. In her opening speech, she joked about coming back, stating, “Just like ‘Wicked,’ I’m here for a sequel.”

While working on her monologue for this year’s Golden Globe Awards, Glaser mentioned that one of the most challenging jokes to craft was about actress Julia Roberts, who received a nomination this year for best actress in a film drama for her role inAfter the Hunt.

Glaser told Yahoothat she tried her material on actual audiences at comedy clubs in Los Angeles and discovered that they strongly defend Roberts.

“No one wants you to mock America’s Sweetheart. Not even the slightest, most innocent joke,” Glaser stated. In her speech, Glaser ultimately looked at the joke from a new perspective. “Just like the podcasters nominated tonight, I shouldn’t be allowed to be this close to Julia Roberts,” Glaser joked, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Although she didn’t roast Roberts, she made fun of other Golden Globe contenders, such as Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, and Kevin Hart. She also made a comment about recent events and teased CBS, the network that aired the Golden Globes.

Here were some of hermost memorable lines throughout the evening.

The most remarkable aspect is that you managed to do all of that before your girlfriend reached the age of 30.

Glaser didn’t hold back in addressing DiCaprio’s past relationships with younger women. The actor, who is 51, has been in a relationship with Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, who is 27, since 2023.

“What an amazing career you’ve had,” she said to him.One Battle After Anotherstar. “Numerous legendary performances, you’ve collaborated with every renowned director, you’ve received three Golden Globe awards, an Oscar, and the most remarkable achievement is that you managed to do all of this before your girlfriend reached the age of 30.”

“I mean, that’s completely crazy,” Glaser said, then apologized as DiCaprio laughed.

Leo, I’m sorry I told that joke,” she said. “It was cheap. I tried not to, but, you know, we don’t really know anything else about you, dude. There’s nothing else. Be open! I’m serious! I checked! I looked it up! The most detailed interview you’ve ever done was in Teen Beat magazine back in 1991.

There are numerous celebrities, and by celebrities, I specifically refer to individuals on a list that has been significantly censored.

While Glaser mentioned to the Associated Press that she was cautious about discussing the subject of the Trump administrationcapturing Venezuela’s presidentearlier this month, she refused to yield on other ongoing issues.

“I can’t believe the amount of celebrity presence in this room tonight. It’s incredible,” Glaser said. “There are so many top-tier stars, and by top-tier I mean a list that has been significantly censored. And the Golden Globe for best editing goes to the Justice Department,” she added, criticizing the Trump administration for its recent redactions of the Epstein files.

CBS News: The latest spot to watch fabricated news in America.

Perhaps one of Glaser’s most significant lines from her opening monologue was her joke that criticized CBS forpulling a 60 Minutes news segment last monthregarding the reported mistreatment of Venezuelan immigrants at a prison in El Salvador who were deported by the Trump administration.

“And the prize for the most edited content goes to CBS News… America’s latest source for fabricated news,” Glaser stated.

Podcasts: they’re … just the thing we have these days.

A new addition to the Golden Globes this year was the Best Podcast award. Prior to the announcement of the nominees on the show, Glaser appeared in a brief video that parodiedThe famous commercial from AMC featuring Nicole Kidman. Rather than entering a movie theater that is “closed for renovations,” Glaser heads to her car to listen to a podcast.

“That unforgettable sensation when the episode begins,” Glaser calmly remarks to the camera, only to be interrupted by a loud advertisement she quickly tries to skip — a vexing experience many podcast listeners are likely familiar with.

Can we go somewhere we’ve never been before?” Glaser continues, only to receive ordinary questions from the Golden Globe-nominated podcasts, such as, “What’s your favorite cookie?” and “What time do you prefer to have dinner?

I won’t stop, stop, stop with this song, yeah!

For the second consecutive year,Glaser delivered a short musical performance, combining two of the 2026 Golden Globe nominees: lyrics influenced byMarty Supreme, a movie about a man striving to become a table tennis champion, set to the melody of the popular song “Golden” fromNetflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters.

“I won’t stop, stop, stop with this song, yeah,” Glaser sang, using a ping pong paddle as a microphone. A short time later, she was interrupted by Fran Drescher, her co-star from Marty Supreme, noted for her unique vocal style in the 1990s television comedy seriesThe Nanny.

“You need to stop singing; your voice is really irritating,” Drescher begged, then asked Glaser if she was going to sing in Korean.

“Absolutely not. I was planning to rap in Korean,” Glaser joked.