Jo Koy Shares Emotional Story of Experiencing Racism as a Child: 'We're Not Going to Do That Anymore'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Jo Koyis opening up about the challenges he endured in his youth.

“It wasn’t about race that day on a Sunday,” he continued, switching into his mothers' voice occasionally. “She’d just be there because ‘Everyone believes in Jesus, Joseph — Black, Mexican, white, we all believe in Jesus.'”

“But the minute she left, it became separate,” he recalled. “It sucked to see my mom go through that. There was no Facebook, there was no Instagram. There was no TikTok where she can build a community. She couldn’t go to Google and search ‘Filipino community’ like these kids can do today. My mom had to physically find her friends. And as funny as that s— sounds, just imagine being in her shoes. She’s in church, listening to the sermon, but also looking for other people that look like her.”

Simon Kim Photo

During the event, in which Koy shared the stage with comics including Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Cheng and Andrew Lopez, he shared that in his work, “it’s fun to use humor to talk about issues like that,” adding that he loves being able “to tell my truth.” This led to him telling another story in which a young boy used a racist gesture in front of him.

Koy explained that that’s what his mother “had to go through” but such behavior was “accepted back then.”

“We’re not going to do that anymore,” he added.

Ben Trivett

Koy detailed his experiences with racism ahead of the release of his filmEaster Sunday. Premiering on Aug. 5, the movie follows a man who returns home to spend Easter with his Filipino American family. The comedy is based on Koy’s life experiences.

“[Universal Studios] is a huge studio shining a light on a culture you know about but don’t always see on screen,” he recently toldVariety. “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and it will be beautiful. And maybe you’ll realize we’re not all that different from you.”

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Frazer Harrison/Getty

Koy celebrates the arrival of his major feature film as hegoes through a very public breakupwith girlfriendChelsea Handler. When she announced their spliton Instagram, Handler, 47, asked fans to “continue to root for both of us.”

source: people.com