VIDEO: Nikki Glaser Tells Howard What Jokes She Cut From the 2026 Golden Globes

Millions of people tuned in Sunday night to watch Nikki Glaser host the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, a star-studded event honoring the best in film and television in 2025. On Tuesday, the comedian and first-class roaster joined the Stern Show from SiriusXM’s L.A. studios to reflect on the big evening and her well-received opening monologue. As has become tradition for her in recent years, Nikki also exclusively revealed to Howard some of the best jokes she didn’t tell.

In addition to zingers featuring everyone from Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio to Sydney Sweeney and Julia Roberts, Nikki said she cut out a bit about “Wicked: For Good” star Jeff Goldblum. “Jeff Goldblum is here tonight,” she told Howard and co-host Robin Quivers. “Not because he’s nominated, just because they were shooting an ad for apartments.com down the street and he just kind of wandered in.”

When asked if there’s disappointment when a joke goes unused, Nikki appeared unfazed. “Things do live on in some way, and maybe sometimes a joke is just for the [writers’] room,” she said. “There’s been times where jokes have really hurt people’s feelings or I’ve just gone too far, [so] I feel like I am always okay with losing stuff.”

And while Glaser might have once felt precious about certain jokes, that is no longer the case. “You just got to move on and [try to] write a better joke,” she said before adding, “There’s got to be a better joke out there.’”

When it came to Penn, who starred in “One Battle After Another,” Nikki wound up with a handful of jokes — including one that did make it into her opening set: “Everyone in Hollywood is desperate to look younger. Meanwhile, Sean Penn is like, ‘What if I morph into a sexy leather handbag?’”

While the joke left Howard and Robin in stitches, Howard couldn’t help but wonder if that was the kind of barb Nikki felt needed to be cleared with the acclaimed actor ahead of time.

Glaser confirmed it was something she’d thought about. “That was one where I was like, ‘I think I need to,’” she noted. “What is it going to do in the room if he makes a face? Everyone in the room is not going to laugh, even if it is funny, and even if he does look exactly like a handbag?.”

She ultimately sought feedback from two other renowned comedians: David Spade, who currently has a residency with Nikki in Las Vegas, and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. “Everyone seemed to be in agreement that [Penn] was going to be fine about it … and I was okay with doing that joke because I am attracted to him,” she told Howard with a laugh.

Before signing off Sunday evening, Nikki donned a “Spinal Tap” hat to honor director Rob Reiner, who was tragically killed in December along with his wife Michele. In considering how best to pay him tribute, Glaser thought that quiet gesture made the most sense. “What I really thought was, if the tables were turned what would I want Rob Reiner to do for me?” she explained. “That would be enough for me — just a little joke, a little nod, a reference to his work.”

Nikki Glaser Was Judd Apatow’s Babysitter

Another nice moment for Nikki during the show was when director Judd Apatow mentioned, while presenting Best Director – Motion Picture, that she used to babysit his kids. “I was really tickled by that because it’s such a special moment for me that I started out as his babysitter,” she revealed. “They paid well,” the comedian added. “It was like $35, $40 an hour, which was like more than I’d ever been paid to babysit.”

Though she never intended to use the gig as an opportunity to further her career, Nikki did wind up asking Judd to audition for his film “Funny People,” which he was working on at the time. She might not have gotten that part, but she appeared in one of his subsequent films, “Trainwreck,” and plans to work on a new movie with him soon.

As Glaser explained it, the idea for the upcoming romantic comedy stemmed from a conversation they were having about what was going on in her life at the time. “We were talking like old friends, and I started opening up about things I was struggling with,” she told Howard. “He got something out of me that we thought, ‘Okay, this could be a really fun idea for a movie,’”

“Like all of his films, there’s going to be heart in it and emotions I hope and come from a real place,” Nikki added.

Nikki Glaser is Still a Swiftie

As she has told Howard in the past, Nikki is a massive Taylor Swift fan. While it was specifically the song “Blank Space” that led to her self-proclaimed “obsession,” she said meeting the star backstage during The Red Tour was equally impactful.

“[Taylor] was so nice … That’s what I was really struck by — just how kind she was and how normal she seemed offstage,” the comedian recalled. “I think I have tried to emulate that in my life … being personable and seeming like someone you would want to be friends with when you meet them.”

“Nikki Glaser & David Spade: The Vegas Residency” returns to the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace this weekend. Get ticket information here.