The host with the roast: How Nikki Glaser plans to put her own spin on the 2025 Golden Globes

Even as she prepares to host the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, Nikki Glaser will be the first person to tell you she’s on the C-list.

"I say that with so much love for myself,” she tells Entertainment Weekly. “I’m fine with that. I’m a comedian. If I wasn’t hosting, I wouldn’t be there. There’s no other way for me to be there, except maybe as a seat filler.”

Related: Comedian and FBoy Island star Nikki Glaser to host 2025 Golden Globes ceremony

In many ways, Glaser is a natural fit for the job: a stand-up comedian (Perfect, Bangin’) best known to audiences for her sick burns, having participated in the Comedy Central roasts of Rob Lowe, Bruce Willis, and Alec Baldwin, and, most recently, Netflix's of Tom Brady.

But even though the Globes are known as a spot for taking swipes at A-listers, Glaser is well aware she has to earn her insults. “I have to contextualize myself a bit more to the audience,” notes the former Masked Singer and Dancing With the Stars contestant, who also hosts Max's reality hit FBoy Island and its spinoff, Lovers and Liars, on The CW.

“I have to say who I am first. I have to be a little softer and more self-deprecating,” she reveals of her hosting strategy. “Because I’m not as well-known, I can’t just come out swinging. They’ll be like, ‘Who is this lady and why does she think she has a right to talk to us this way?’ I can’t come in with the same annihilating venom as I did at the Tom Brady roast. With status comes the ability to punch harder.”

Related: Nikki Glaser says she has to do a 'cleanse' after a roast: 'It's a disgusting place to write from'

Even so, is Glaser, 40, going to shake up the status quo when she takes the stage at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 5? Here’s how she’s preparing for her Golden evening.

Binge Mode

Hosts are often announced within a month of the Globes telecast. But Glaser was made official in August, providing her ample time to prepare—and she’s using every second of it. “I’m honestly trying to do as many live performances as I can,” she says.

In October, she did a live roast of Thursday Night Football for Prime Video, a project she pitched herself to get in the habit of reacting to a broadcast in real time: writing jokes and then going live immediately following the game.

Related: Nikki Glaser roasts Ben Affleck for bombing at The Roast of Tom Brady: 'He didn't prepare'

Additionally — though the Globes didn't announce their 2025 nominees until Dec. 9 — Glaser is bingeing as much content as she can. "I’m trying to tap into what these shows make me feel, because that’s what’s going to lead to the joke," she explains. "I’m watching a ton, but I’m also talking with a bunch of people about what they’re watching, because it’s impossible for me to watch everything."

London Calling

Though Glaser has plenty of experience onstage, she’s never hosted an awards show before — so she called up five-time Globes host Ricky Gervais.

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"His advice was like, 'You aren’t them. You’re a comedian. They’re A-list movie stars. Remember that. Do what you do. Don’t try to be them. Don’t trick yourself into thinking you are better than you are,'" she shares of her conversation with the often irreverent English comedian. “I liked that, because I always perform best when I shake that delusion off. I’m not a movie star. I just have to be a comedian that night. Then, by the third time I’m hosting, I can have a scorched-earth monologue."

Thank you for being a fan...er, friend

“I want to be sincere about how I’m feeling that night,” Glaser says. “I am a fangirl. I am excited to be there. I don’t want anything to be phoned in. I don’t want anything to seem rehearsed. I really want to represent the people watching at home, so I want it to feel conversational. I want people to feel like, ‘Whoa, that’s maybe how I would do it.’ I’m still a girl from St. Louis who can’t believe she made it this far and gets to be around all these people she admires so much, so I’m going to try to inject as much of that as possible.”

Related: How to watch the 2025 Golden Globes nominations

With that in mind, what is she most excited for? “I’m looking forward to meeting Jennifer Aniston. It’s been a goal since sixth grade, and it might finally happen that night.”

Swift decision

Glaser is a self-professed Swiftie, and the pop star is no stranger to the Globes. So, is Glaser trying to get Taylor Swift to perform on the broadcast?

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"I am not pushing anything, because I want Taylor to do whatever she wants to do,” she pledges. “If she’s there, I can guarantee that there will be no jokes made at her expense. Taylor, if you’rer eading this, you can just enjoy your night and not have to worry if anything’s going to be said about you. You can sit on the stage next to me.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly