Jo Koy Scrapped His Stockton Speech Onstage. The Result Is 'Blue in the Face'

Jo Koy's Netflix special "Blue in the Face" premiered Sept. 15 and completes the two-special deal he signed with the streamer in 2023. Koy edited it himself, cutting two sold-out Stockton, Calif., arena shows — each over two hours — down to 55 minutes.

The special is a contender in the Golden Globes' best performance in stand-up comedy on television category. It will enter the Emmy race for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) next year.

Why did he abandon his opening speech?

Stockton was Koy's first time in the Central Valley city, and before taping he researched its Filipino history. He found "No Filipinos allowed" signs on restaurants, water fountains Filipinos could not use, and the Little Manila neighborhood later split by a freeway. "There were a lot of fucked-up things that happened," he told Variety, apologizing for the language. "It just really sucked."

His plan was to open the show by hitting that history hard. Then the crowd gave him a standing ovation the moment he walked out. "I saw this white guy high-five this Asian guy, and a Black guy was standing and a Black lady over here, Latinos over here and a Filipino right here," he said. "And I was just like, no, man, I'm not gonna do this." He decided onstage: "What happened in the past is the past, but look where we are now."

The special's structure, he said, is "like a bookend" built around one idea: "Keeping your circle tight. Get the crabs out of your life. Celebrate your wins and the people who celebrated you." He chose Stockton deliberately over prime markets like New York and L.A., saying secondary-market crowds "want to go to a show and be a part of it." The two arena dates sold out.

What did Voletta Wallace say to him?

After "Live From Brooklyn," the first Netflix special, Koy performed an uncleled Biggie bit and had to pay for the songs. The bit led to a phone call from Voletta Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, who died in February 2025. "Thank you for keeping my son's legacy alive," she told him. "It'll always be on Netflix, and generations after this will always see his body of work. I love you for that." She granted him permanent rights to the iconic image of her son wearing a crown; every shirt sold donates to the Wallace Foundation.

How did Spielberg change his career?

A call from Amblin came after Steven Spielberg watched "Comin' in Hot," Koy's special filmed in Hawaii. Staff from the lobby to a hallway of Indiana Jones memorabilia told him "Steven" loved it — Koy initially wondered if they meant someone in accounting. The meeting produced the DreamWorks deal that became "Easter Sunday," shot in Vancouver during the pandemic and released against "Maverick," "Jurassic World," "Minions" and "Thor." "I held on for three weeks," he said. He next voices a character in the animated "Forgotten Island," built on Filipino folklore. "When I was a kid, that's all I heard — don't step on the duwende," he said.

What does 'Jo Koy' actually mean?

His stage name came from his Auntie Evelyn, who called him "Jo ko" — "my Jo" in Tagalog. Koy discovered the meaning only years later, over a meal at a Long John Silver's on Maryland Parkway, where he started crying. His mother remains his best material: a 1984 shoe-store confrontation, when she answered a man mocking her accent with "I speak two languages in your country... How many do you speak? One."

He has signed no new deal since the Netflix contract ended. "I love Netflix. Creatively, they respect my decisions," he said — leaving his next hour, and its home, an open question.