Nikki Glaser Explains Why She Cut ICE, Trump, and Brad Pitt Jokes From the Golden Globes

In what is now a post-Golden Globes tradition, host Nikki Glaser went on The Howard Stern Show to reveal the jokes she left on the cutting room floor. Among the bits that didn’t make it into the kudocast were punchlines about ICE and Donald Trump.

Glaser told Stern she largely avoided politics because it’s not funny. I was going to come in at some point and say, ‘I’m hearing from the bar that we’re out of ice. And you know, we don’t really need ice. And actually, I hate ice,’ Glaser said, in a double entendre about the federal immigration enforcement agency. It just felt like, oh, even that’s just being too trivial. … It’s hard to strike the right tone.

The Globes aired just a few days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests and claims from the Trump administration that he acted in self-defense. A handful of celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo, Natasha Lyonne, and Wanda Sykes, wore pins on the Golden Globes carpet that read Ice Out and Be Good to honor Good’s memory.

A joke about the Globes venue being renamed the Trump Beverly Hilton — in the wake of the Trump Kennedy Center controversy — was also scrapped. You just don’t say that guy’s name right now, Glaser said about the president. I just want to give it space. She told Stern that Steve Martin sent her the joke ahead of the awards show, but he later backpedaled, advising her not to use the bit and to steer clear of politics.

Glaser did have a couple of topical jokes in her monologue that Stern praised her for, including one about the very network on which she was hosting. (The award for most editing goes to CBS News. Yes. CBS news: America’s newest place to see B.S. news, she said, referencing the recent news that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss killed a 60 Minutes segment about the U.S. sending deportees to a prison in El Salvador.)

Glasser also revealed she cut a joke involving Brad Pitt:

“Brad Pitt is nominated for his role in ‘F1’ tonight. See, that’s what I love about Hollywood. When a man turns 60, he gets to play a racecar driver. Meanwhile, after 35, every role for a woman is a tired mom who hates her life. And Brad, you were so good I was almost convinced that you’ve driven yourself somewhere in the last 30 years. But Brad did a lot of his own driving in the movie. And Brad, I don’t want to embarrass you, but your blinker was on the whole time there.”

Following her historic run as the first woman to host the Golden Globes solo, Nikki Glaser has seen her career reach new heights. She recently concluded her global The Good Girl tour and is currently traveling for her Alive and Unwell tour, which has dates scheduled through late 2026 across the U.S. and Europe. In addition to her stand-up success, she is expanding her footprint in Hollywood through a major creative partnership with Judd Apatow.

The comedian is set to co-write, produce, and star in an upcoming edgy romantic comedy for Universal Pictures. This project marks a full-circle moment for Glaser, who famously worked as a nanny for Apatow’s children earlier in her career.

Beyond the big screen, she continues to host The Nikki Glaser Podcast and serves as executive producer for the FBoy Island spin-off, Lovers and Liars. Fans can also catch her in a high-profile Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace alongside David Spade throughout 2026.

Which of Nikki’s cut jokes do you think would have landed the best on the Golden Globes stage, or do you agree that skipping the politics was the right move? Share your thoughts in the comments.