Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser promises light roasting and laughs: ‘I understand the assignment’

(CNN) — Hosting a Hollywood award show has been compared to a thankless balancing act between working the room and serving viewers at home, but comedian Nikki Glaser, who is set to helm Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, has had some practice.

Her standout performance at the Netflix Tom Brady roast last spring is what caught the attention of Globes producers.

“It’s before and after that moment. I really feel like I woke up the next day and was just more recognizable to people,” Glaser told CNN in an interview this week. “It kind of felt like like an Olympic gymnastics balance beam routine that, you know, even if you stumble a little bit, it’s still impressive. But I just didn’t stumble. I’ve never had that in my career.”

Glaser aims to pull that off again on Sunday. And while she knows Globes nominees are not signing up to be roasted at the event, Glaser said she intends to deliver on the humor that got her noticed and hopes the crowd in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton and those watching on TV can all share some good laughs.

“I understand the assignment that I’ve been given,” Glaser quipped.

Glaser revealed the advice she got from previous Globes hosts Ricky Gervais, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. She also teased there may be a bleep or two in her opening monologue and shared how she practices social media sobriety.

Our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.

So tell me how you were asked to be the host of the Golden Globes?

My agent and my manager called me, both at the same time. When you get a call from your reps, you always know it’s either good news or bad news, but it was two. And so I knew it was good news because they always want to get on together to tell you good news. But when it’s bad news, it’s always one person. I love my manager’s tone was like, ‘Nikki, what are you doing in January?’ And I was like, well, ‘I was gonna maybe have a brow lift.’ They’re like, ‘That something that can wait until January 7th.’

Was this ever on your career bucket list to host the Golden Globes?

I’m not a goal oriented person. I know that sounds crazy. I just have always been wanting whatever’s right in front of me as opposed to what’s miles ahead… But it did come on a lot sooner than I thought it would.

You are the first solo female host for the Golden Globes, which I keep running that statistic in my mind because it seems crazy that we’re in 2025 now. What does that mean to you?

I wish I could say it means so much, but it doesn’t because Tina (Fey) and Amy (Poehler) could have hosted alone. It’s not like they needed each other, because they couldn’t have done it alone. It’s just they wanted to have someone. Who knows, if I host in the future, there’s part of me thinking like, who would I get to host with me? That would be really fun. There’s a different dynamic to that.

So, it means something, but I don’t make a too big of a a meal out of it… Whoopi (Goldberg) did it four times for the Oscars. You know, Ellen (DeGeneres) has done it before (hosted the Oscars.) It’s precedented, but it’s still a cool achievement. It feels badass and it feels like, yeah, there’s an added little feather in my cap for the evening from that.

You got a lot of love for the Tom Brady roast. Is this going to be a roast?

There’s roast elements to it. I think that the Golden Globes kind of allows for that more than other award shows. There’s a precedent with Ricky (Gervais) and Tina and Amy kind of skewering these Hollywood elites that take themselves too seriously. There’s going to be some of that, but it’s not a roast. These people are not, you know, Tom Brady signed up for a roast, he knew what he was getting into. These people are just going, they’re nominated, they’re not signing up to be roasted at all. They’re not signing up to be a part of my monologue, but they might be.

I’m worried if I say a joke and then it cuts to the celebrity and they’re not laughing, I really hope that celebrities look at this as an opportunity to come across as very likable. Laughing at yourself is a great quality, and it really endears you to the audience at home to not take yourself so seriously. I promise that I’m not going after them in any way that would deserve a mean mug to the camera. I’ve made sure these jokes are in the spirit of celebration and aren’t going too hard. I’m not gonna call you a horse-face whore, like I’ve been called and had to laugh through on a roast. In the scheme of things, I’m going to go pretty light. But I was hired because of the Tom Brady roast. I can’t not deliver on that a little bit.

The room shouldn’t be scared, but maybe they should be on notice a little bit?

If any celebrities are seeing this, I promise you I am not out to ruin your night.

Are you nervous to be on stage in front of that A-list crowd?

Yeah, it’s crazy. I just try to remember that they’re all people and that as I’ve climbed the ranks of like, popularity and fame, even where I’m at right now, I remember I’m just a girl who wakes up looking really fugly and has messy hair and smells bad and has bad breath and has problems in her relationships. And they’re all those people too… But yeah, it’s in my mind that Angelina Jolie has to listen to me talk for nine minutes, like nine minutes of Angelina Jolie’s life is spent listening to me talk. That is wild and not lost on me.

Seth Rogan reached out to me. People have been asking me who reached out to me, and I forgot to give him a nod… I’m excited for comedy people to be in the room, because they get it. They understand this gig is nearly impossible. It’s tough, so I think they’re going to be really generous with laughs. I can’t think about it too much! Don’t make me think about it.

Have you talked to five-time Globes host Ricky (Gervais)?

He told me remember that you are not one of them. You’re a comedian. That’s what you’re there to do. Don’t get in your head… it kind of grounded me. Then Tina and Amy wrote to me. They said the room is really loud when it starts. People might still be walking around, taking selfies together, standing up. Remember that they can’t hear that at home. Don’t try to settle them down and quiet everyone. It’s not gonna work. Just go. That really helped. And Seth Meyers actually co-signed on that.

Your brand of comedy is pretty raunchy. You have to be broadcast friendly here. Are they going have to put you on a two second delay, Nikki?

I understand the assignment that I’ve been given. I may be raunchy in my standup, but if you choose to come see me, you know what it is. This is like, they’ve chosen me, so I’m adapting to what they are. I’m not thrusting what I do on them. And so it will be something that I think families can watch. I mean, I’m gonna be a little bit horny in some of the jokes, but there’s no harm in that. I’m 40! How can I not be? There were some talks of having a set up, like they would know when to bleep it. It’s almost funnier when there’s a bleep.

I’m not gonna try to get away with anything. I’m not there to burn bridges. I want to go to the afterparty and still be able to have a good time and not be like, ‘I can’t go. Selena Gomez might be mad at me about that joke!’ You know? So it’s a balancing act.

With award shows, with all these viral pop culture moments, people are commenting right away. Do you read the social media comments or do you want to stay away?

I have been sober from comments since 2018… It’s been the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself is not read comments, the same thing I did with alcohol. Like, I loved alcohol and I love comments. I read them about other people, but I don’t get to do it. I have a problem with comments. They ruin my life. And so I don’t get to have them, just like I don’t get to have alcohol. Other people can handle comments, I can’t.

When you remove that, I don’t think about it at all. I can post with abandon. If something’s cringe, I don’t go, ‘You know, people are going to make fun of me.’ I don’t care because I’m not gonna see it. Make fun of me all you want. I love it!

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