After two spectacular outings as the host of the Golden Globes, I think we can all agree that Nikki Glaser is one of the best celebrity roasters we’ve ever had.
At this year’s ceremony back in January, none of the A-listers were safe. She took shots at everyone from George Clooney to Timothée Chalamet, and even went as far as to make cocaine jokes about Sean Penn and compare him to a “sexy leather handbag.” (Maybe that’s why he didn’t show up to the Oscars?)
But, of course, everything Nikki does is in good faith, and during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, she told Jimmy Fallon how she tries to stay on good terms with the celebs at the receiving end of her brutal jokes.
“After I do it, I always send flowers to everyone that I made fun of that was a good sport about it, which was everyone, just to say thank you, because it is a part of why I’m successful at it,” she said, before revealing that “the only person who sent something back to me” was… Leonardo DiCaprio.
In case you need reminding, Nikki made a two-part joke about Leo at the Globes this year. “What a career Leonardo DiCaprio has had,” the first part began. “Countless iconic performances, you’ve worked with every great director, you’ve won three Golden Globes and an Oscar — and the most impressive thing is you were able to accomplish all that before your girlfriend turned 30.”
Then she led into the real joke, which played into how notoriously private he is. “Leo, I’m sorry I made that joke, it’s cheap, I tried not to, but we don’t know anything else about you, man,” she said, prompting massive laughs from the crowd. “There’s, like, nothing else.”
“Open up, I’m serious, I searched,” she added. “The most in-depth interview you’ve ever given was to Teen Beat magazine in 1991. Is your favorite food still ‘pasta, pasta, and more pasta?’”
Looking back on the writing process for this, Nikki told Jimmy that the young girlfriend jokes have “truly been around forever,” which led her to the realization that “there was nothing else to say about him.” “I was like, ‘Well, that’s kind of funny…this guy doesn’t reveal anything about himself. Let’s find something he’s revealed,’” she explained.
If you watch her 2026 Globes monologue here, you’ll see that Leo seemingly responded very well to the pasta joke on the night. And, being somewhat of a prankster himself, just wait till you hear what he sent Nikki in return for the flowers…
“He sent me three baskets of pasta as a ‘thank you,’” she said. “So funny. So good. And part of me was like, ‘Does Leo want to smash?’”
As for whether she’s heard anything from Sean Penn after the “sexy leather handbag” line? Not yet, but there’s still time. “I’m waiting for a package from Hermes,” Nikki quipped. “Any day now.”
She is hilarious, and I cannot wait to see her back on the Golden Globes stage next year!! Bring on 2027.
