Nikki Glaser Ribs CBS News, Leo DiCaprio, and More in Another Scathing Golden Globes Monologue

Nikki Glaser returned to the Golden Globes stage with the confidence of someone who knows exactly how much trouble she can get away with, and then nudged just past it in another scathing monologue. Hosting the Golden Globe Awards for the second year in a row, Glaser opened the 83rd ceremony with speech that blended industry gallows humor, political commentary, and her celebrity roast bonafides for an especially strong start to the celebration. 

She kicked things off by nodding to Hollywood’s ongoing corporate anxiety, pretending to auction off Warner Bros. for spare change. “We’ll start the bidding for Warner Bros. at five dollars,” she said, before adding, “Do I hear five dollars?” The joke landed as both a laugh line and a quiet acknowledgment of how unstable even the biggest entertainment players feel right now. From there, she pivoted into even darker territory, invoking the Epstein files while scanning the room. 

“I cannot believe the amount of star power we have in this room tonight,” Glaser said. “There’s so many A-listers — and by A-listers, I mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted.” The host followed it up with one of the night’s biggest applause lines: “And the Golden Globe for Best Editing goes to… the Justice Department.” Not content to stop there, she added, “And the award for most editing goes to CBS News. Yes. CBS News: America’s newest place to ‘See B.S. News.’”

Glaser’s celebrity-themed jabs were equally pointed. Addressing “One Battle After Another” star Leonardo DiCaprio, Glaser praised his career before landing on the inevitable age-gap joke: “The most impressive thing is that you were able to accomplish all of that before your girlfriend turned 30.” She undercut herself, adding, “Leo, I’m sorry I made that joke. It is cheap. I tried not to, but we don’t know anything else about you, man. There’s nothing else. Open up!”

Elsewhere, part-time coffee salesman George Clooney gamely played along as Glaser asked him, deadpan, “My Nespressos keep coming out watery. Do you think it might be the filter?” And Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were dubbed Glaser’s “favorite comedy duo,” before she clarified: “You guys are like Steve Martin and Martin Short for people under 50 IQ.”

She poked fun at Martin and Short, too, quipping the “Only Murders in the Building” stars are living proof that “You are never too old to still need money!” Glaser also took aim at prestige TV, calling the latest season of “The White Lotus” “the first hit show to feature incest since ‘The Property Brothers.’”

Ruthless but self-aware, topical but not smug, Glaser completely delivered. It’s obvious why she was invited back so quickly after her 2025 hosting debut, and in a year when awards shows are still fighting to feel relevant, she set the stage with messy fun — without pretending everything was just fine. 

Dick Clark Productions, which owns and produces the Golden Globes, is a Penske Media company. PMC is also IndieWire’s parent company.