Nikki Glaser is wasting no time preparing for her next big gig. After crushing at Tom Brady’s live Netflix roast this spring, the workhorse comedian was tapped to host the 2025 Golden Globes, airing Sunday, January 5, on CBS. With the gig just a few weeks away, Glaser tells Vanity Fair that she’s “fully in the thick” of prepping for her big night. “It’s probably been about two and a half or three weeks of writing jokes and doing those onstage, running all over LA, doing three or four sets a night,” she says over Zoom. “I was on the road this weekend in New Hampshire, in Vermont, and did my monologue there. I’m in New York right now, was out last night at the Comedy Cellar. Going to go out again tonight, run it two or three times.”
after failing to capture the room or the nation, blamed his relatively short amount of prep time (just 10 days) for his poor performance. But Glaser, who was announced as Globes host in late August, doesn’t have such an excuse. And she doesn’t intend on needing one either. “I feel nothing but complete assurance and confidence in me being able to do this,” she says. “There’s been some jobs I’ve gotten before that I’m like, I hope I can do this, this is a lot of pressure. This, I’m just like, Yeah, they picked the right person. No one’s going to work harder than me at this.’”
Glaser is aware she’s talking a big game, but feels she’s putting in the work necessary to be proud of her performance—no matter what happens. “I will not be able to say, ‘I could have worked harder,’” she says. “And as long as I’m able to say that, I’m fine with the outcome. If it goes poorly, there’s nothing I could have done differently because I considered every variable. I worked my fucking ass off on this.”
Below, Glaser opens up about her Globes prep process, being both a host and nominee, and her favorite movie of the year.
Vanity Fair: What have you learned from testing your Globes material out on the road?
Nikki Glaser: I’m learning no one’s seen Emilia Pérez and doesn’t know anything about it, even though it’s nominated more than anything. I know everyone’s seen Wicked. No one’s seen Conclave. People aren’t as aware of The Bear as I would’ve hoped.
I’m learning that a lot of this stuff, you have to tell them what it is first. I know the people in the room are going to know what all these things are. But for me to joke about Nightbitch or A Complete Unknown to people in Vermont and to people who are just tourists here in New York—they don’t know what those things are. They aren’t part of the Academy. They aren’t as savvy. People are just consuming things in a different way. If I reference The Rizzler or the Hawk Tuah Crypto scandal, everyone’s on board. What we’re learning is a Hawk Tuah reference lights up the room in a way that a Wicked reference doesn’t, even.
I feel like you’re the perfect woman to reach people who know The Rizzler, but also have maybe seen Emilia Pérez.
I want people to see Emilia Pérez! I want people to enjoy this evening without having seen it. So it is my job to educate them about what these things are, and to maybe even maybe make them want to see it.
I think I am the perfect person to do this, because I’m learning a lot in the process. I’m having to watch all these things that I probably wouldn’t have consumed before, either. So I’m coming from both sides of it now, being like, “Oh, damn. This is a really good movie that I probably would’ve missed had I not been asked to host and been forced to watch this.”
More people need to see Conclave. It’s my favorite movie ever. I can’t believe I maybe would’ve slept on this movie. I don’t think I would’ve been interested in a movie about picking the next pope. I didn’t think there was anything that could make me enthusiastic about the Catholic Church. I told my boyfriend who was raised Catholic and only hears me say really shitty things about the Catholic Church—like, “I think I’m on board.”
The Golden Globes hosting gig has been kind of rough the last couple of years. Jerrod Carmichael was polarizing. Last year, Jo Koy was flop city. Are you thinking about other hosts?
Yeah. I’m thinking about Tina [Fey] and Amy [Poehler]. I’m thinking about Seth Meyers. I’m thinking about Ricky Gervais. My goal is that this monologue is passed around and exists on Instagram Reels and TikTok, if we have TikTok in the coming months—that it stands the test of time. [That] it’s one of those iconic monologue moments where she said some shocking things, she said some true things, she pointed out some hypocrisies that maybe we had noticed but had never been said before, but she also made it a really joyous occasion and she struck the right tone.
I never like to tune into a show where I feel nervous for the host. I want to make sure everyone watching is not nervous for me at all. I’ve got this. I want to walk out on that stage and just let everyone know, including the audience in the room, but mostly the people watching at home: “We don’t have to be nervous for her. She’s got this.”
The Globes are broadcast on national television, but you’ve also got to kill in the room, and it’s a really star-studded room. How are you going to approach that balance?
Everyone that I talk to who’s not in the business is like, “You got to go hard. Destroy them.” People are out for blood because they want me to do what I did at the Roast. People who aren’t celebrities love to see celebrities taken down. Even if they like celebrities, they still have this venom for them. I understand it, because it’s this elite class that you feel like you’re not a part of.
But at the same time, I’m always saying to these people, “Even if I told you a joke and you go, ‘Do that. That’s so good,’ if it doesn’t do well in the room, you’re not going to think it’s funny.” We are conditioned as consumers to respond to a laugh track. So it is essential that I do well in the room, because I want the people at home to have a good time, and the only way they’ll have a good time is if they see me not bombing in that room. Believe me, the set that people in Middle America want me to do is not the set I can do.
The Golden Globes have seen their fair share of controversy. How nice do you have to be to the actual Golden Globes as an institution?
It’s not hard for me to be nice to them. I’m so grateful that they are taking a chance on someone that’s never hosted something this level before, that is known for going really hard on the Tom Brady roast. They’ve gotten backlash for how hard some of the hosts have gone. I’m sure the people in the audience didn’t appreciate some of those moments, but they’re taking a chance on me. They trust me. They’re really excited about me being there.
You’re also nominated for best performance in stand-up comedy on television. Are you more nervous to host the show or for your category?
Being nominated is such an afterthought. It would be like finding out you got a promotion at work when you’re about to have a baby or something. You’re just like, “What? Work doesn’t matter.” This hosting gig is my everything. Everything has suffered in my life; my relationships, my friendships, my birthdays, Christmas gifts aren’t getting bought. It’s a myopic focus right now.
Honestly, as a host, I’m like, “It’s funnier if I lose.” I’m going to have a moment after the award is given out, whether I win or lose, where I talk about it. Right? That’s a funnier moment.
The Golden Globes are known as a party, and you’ve been sober for 10 years. How is that affecting your set?
As someone who’s sober, when I’m around drunk people, I almost get a little boozy. It kind of rubs off on you. I feel like I’ll be in that kind of spirit. The biggest advantage I’ve ever had in my career is not drinking. It’s one thing that I’ve seen… not ruin people’s careers, but definitely slow them down.
From a comedic standpoint, it makes for such a better crowd to have a crowd that’s a couple of drinks in. I just hosted a women’s gala breakfast the other day at 8:00 in the morning for The Hollywood Reporter, and that was really a great gig to have before this because it’s literally the worst time of day to be doing comedy. It was such a sober room. And I did really well there, so I’m like, ‘Oh, in a boozy room at 5:00 at night in Hollywood, I’m going to do just fine.’
What’s the best possible outcome, when it’s all said and done?
I just hope that people like it. I hope that I was a fun, festive host that people felt in good hands with. I hope that people are eager to see me do it again. And I hope that it sets a new bar. I hope that I make Tina and Amy proud. They wrote me an email giving me some advice, and I just hope they send a follow-up email, like, “Good job, girl.”
Honestly, I hope that I want to go to the after-party. Because when I don’t do well at things, I bail on the after-party. I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want people to have to go, “Good job,” and kind of avoid eye contact. So if I’m at the after-party, it means I did well. Because I will definitely get out of it if I don’t.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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The post Nikki Glaser Can’t Wait to Host the Golden Globes: “I Worked My F–king Ass Off on This” appeared first on Vanity Fair.
