Simu Liu promises ‘No Taylor Swift Slander’ at the 2024 PCAs
Simu Liu won’t sow any bad blood with it Taylor Swift when hosting the People’s Choice Awards next month.
“There will be no Taylor [Swift] smear about the 2024 PCAs,” the actor, 34, said wrote via X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, January 11. “That’s a personal guarantee.”
Liu’s pledge came just hours after it was announced that he would host this year’s awards ceremony, which will take place on February 18 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC, Peacock and E!.
“I am so grateful to have been asked to host the 2024 People’s Choice Awards,” Liu said in a statement on Thursday. “It’s exciting to celebrate this incredible year in pop culture, and to do it with the incredible fans who make what we do.”
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Another year, another chance for fans to vote for their favorite movies, TV shows and celebrities at the People’s Choice Awards. Simu Liu, who is nominated for The Movie Performance of the Year for his role as one of the Kens in Barbie, will take on hosting duties for the 2024 awards show […]
Liu has a lot of hosting experience to his name. He presented the last two editions of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Juno Awards and also hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ SciTech Awards in 2023.
“We are thrilled to have Simu Liu host the 2024 People’s Choice Awards,” Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials at NBCUniversal, said in a statement Thursday. “As a favorite Hollywood tour de force, Simu’s boundless charm and connection with fans perfectly embody the spirit of this awards show.”
Before accepting the gig, Liu previously won Action Movie Star at the PCAs for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This year his role as one of the Kens is in Barbie earned him a nomination for Film Performance of the Year. He’s going up against his fellow Barbie costar America Ferrera for the trophy, as well Charles Melton (May December), Danielle Brooks (The color purple), Jacob Elordi (Salt Burn), Melissa McCarthy (The little Mermaid), Natalie Portman (May December) and Viola Davis (Ai).
Barbie is also nominated for Film of the Year and Comedy Film of the Year Ryan Gosling And Margot Robbie scored nods for Male Movie Star of the Year and Female Movie Star of the Year, respectively.
Liu’s comment about what’s fair game — and what’s not — when it comes to his jokes on the PCA stage comes just days after the Golden Globes host Jo Koy received backlash for his opening monologue at the 2024 ceremony. In addition to controversial comments about Barbie, by Robert De Niro personal life and Barry Keoghan’s NSFW scene out Salt burnone particular joke about Swift, 34, struck a chord with viewers.
“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? We have less camera footage of Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes. I swear,” Koy said during one of his segments, referring to Swift being constantly shown on TV during his boyfriend Travis Kelce’s football matches. “There’s just more to go to.”
Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images Jo Koy’s hosting debut at the Golden Globes left a lot to be desired. The comedian, 52, took to the stage on Sunday, January 7, after a long search for a presenter. Koy followed in the footsteps of other comedians, including Jerrod Carmichael, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, […]
After the joke was met with silence, the camera cut to Swift, who was clearly unimpressed by the dig and could be seen in the audience sipping her champagne with a blank stare.
Koy, 52, spoke about the awkward moment during his performance GMA3: What You Need to Know the next day, noting that it was the Globes joke he felt the most bad about.
“I think it was when the Taylor version was still a bit flat,” he recalls. “It was a weird joke, I think. It was more about the NFL. I was trying to make fun of the NFL using cutaways and how the Globes didn’t have to do that. So it was more of a joke towards the NFL. But it just didn’t work out that way.”
A few days later, Koy admitted during an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he wasn’t sure why the Swift joke didn’t land — and claimed he’s even a big fan of the pop star.
“What hurts the most is that I just support Taylor, I support her, I love her work. I have nieces that I bought tickets for. There is no malicious intent in that joke,” he told the newspaper. “The joke is about the NFL and how they keep using cutaways [her]. And it’s a clear reason why. I’m not saying anything that no one is saying, and it’s obvious what that joke was. It’s about the NFL. It’s like out of everything that’s happened, this is the one you choose to go after.