Nikki Glaser apologises to Leonardo DiCaprio after 'cheap joke' about his girlfriend’s age
The long-awaited 2026 Golden Globes kicked off in Los Angeles last night, with the star-studded ceremony boasting a horde of moments that would later go viral online, and one of these was a speech made by comedian Nikki Glaser at the expense of Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 51-year-old movie star was up for the lead actor award last night for his role in the nail-biting action-comedy One Battle After Another. But despite many film fans predicting DiCaprio for the win, it was the youngest in the category that swooped in at the last second, with Timothée Chalamet landing the grand prize for table tennis heist hit, Marty Supreme.
Viewers watching from home also predicted things going from bad to worse for DiCaprio when funny-woman Glaser, who hosted the show for the second year in a row, called him out during her opening monologue.
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Taking to the stage at the Beverly Hilton, the 41-year-old initially seemed to gush over the Titanic star, noting: "Leonardo DiCaprio is here for 'one man bun after another' - what a career you've had, countless iconic performances, you've worked with every great director, you've won three Golden Globes, an Oscar."
She then went on to tease: "And the most impressive thing is you were able to accomplish all of that before your girlfriend turned 30."
For those in need of a reminder, the joke references DiCaprio's long stream of former romances, the vast majority of whom were all in their mid-20s.
This is far from the first time that the actor's dating history has borne the brunt of an award show joke, however, something Glaser went on to acknowledge as she 'apologised'.
"Leo, I'm sorry I made that joke, it's cheap," she continued, seemingly unable to resist firing another shot in his direction. "I tried not to but, you know, we don't know anything else about you, man.
"There's nothing else, open up."
Thankfully, DiCaprio seemed somewhat in on the joke, and was seen looking down and laughing throughout the cheeky segment.
Proving her latter point, she claimed to have 'searched' the 'most in-depth interview' the star had ever given, claiming it 'was in Teen Beat magazine in 1991', and asking: "Is your favorite food still 'pasta, pasta and more pasta'?," she asked.
Still chuckling along, DiCaprio looked at Glaser and gave her a playful thumbs-up.
Most outrageous Golden Globes jokes ever
An awards show isn’t complete without a bit of drama and part of that comes from the jokes told by the hosts - here are some of the most controversial gags from the Golden Globes over the years…
Jeffrey Epstein ‘didn’t kill himself’
Ricky Gervais - who has hosted the Golden Globes five times - brutally told the star-studded audience in 2020: “You could binge-watch the entire first season of After Life instead of watching this show.
“That’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself cause his wife dies of cancer and it’s still more fun than this.
“Spoiler alert, season two is on the way so, in the end, he obviously didn’t kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he’s your friend but I don’t care.”
James Cameron’s marriage
While hosting the 2013 ceremony, Amy Poehler took aim at the filmmaker’s marriage to his third wife, Kathryn Bigelow, who was nominated for Zero Dark Thirty.
Referencing the movie’s controversial depiction of torture, Poehler said: “When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron.”
Cameron recently addressed the ‘ignorant dig’ in an interview with The New York Times.
Judi Dench’s ‘m*nge’
Unsurprisingly, Gervais makes the list once again, this time with his quip about James Corden and Judi Dench for their roles in Cats.
In 2020, he said: “The world got to see James Corden as a fat p*ssy. He was also in the movie Cats.
“No one saw that movie. And the reviews, shocking. I saw one that said, ‘This is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs’.
“But Dame Judi Dench defended the film, saying it was the film she was born to play because she loves nothing better than plonking herself down on the carpet, lifting her leg and licking her own m*nge. [Coughs] Furball. She’s old-school.”
‘Diddy’s credit card’
2025 host Nikki Glaser made a controversial joke about disgraced music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, before he was sentenced to 50 months in prison on prostitution-related crimes.
While addressing Zendaya, Glaser said: “Challengers, girl? Oh my God! That movie was more sexually charged than Diddy’s credit card, I mean, seriously. I’m sorry, I’m upset too. The afterparty is not going to be as good this year, but we have to move on.
“I know a Stanley Tucci freak-off doesn’t have the same ring to it. No baby oil this year, just lots of olive oil.”
Barbenheimer bomb
During his 2024 opening monologue, comedian Jo Koy was accused of making a ‘sexist’ joke about one of the biggest films of the year.
“Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” he said in a true tumbleweed moment.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig later reacted to the divisive remark, saying: “Well, he's not wrong.”
Leonardo DiCaprio’s love life
It’s only fitting to end the list with another outrageous jibe from Gervais.
While speaking about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s famously long runtime, he poked fun at Leonardo DiCaprio’s reputation for dating younger women.
“Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere and by the end, his date was too old for him,” the comedian said in 2020 (he clearly took no prisoners that year), before adding: "Even Prince Andrew is like, ‘Come on Leo, mate. You’re nearly 50'."
Topics: Golden Globes, Celebrity, US News, TV And Film
Rhianna Benson