Nikki Glaser's Discarded Joke about 'Pluribus' Was Hilariously Inaccurate

Not so long ago, I wrote a review of a film that I liked, but noted that it probably wouldn’t be burning up the Netflix charts. A couple of days later, the director emailed me with a screenshot of the movie sitting comfortably in Netflix’s Top Ten.

Well played.

I thought of that moment when I heard about the Pluribus joke Nikki Glaser cut from her Golden Globes monologue. It was one of several jokes left on the cutting room floor, but she delivered it yesterday on Howard Stern’s show.

“Pluribus is nominated. Did you know that Pluribus is Latin for ‘I haven’t seen it?’”

Not the best of the discarded jokes, though I did enjoy the one David Spade gave her: “I just saw Sean Penn. Maybe he’s taking The Substance wrong.”

Anyway, about that Pluribus joke. It’s worth noting that Apple has announced that Pluribus may actually be Latin for “huge honking hit.” Before the first season even finished airing, Apple revealed that it had become the most-watched series in the streamer’s history, surpassing both Ted Lasso and Severance. It helped drive one of the strongest months the service has ever had, with viewing hours jumping 36 percent across the platform, and the series also cracked the Nielsen Top Ten in the second week of December. Not bad for a show on the 8th-ranked streamer.

For what it’s worth, Rhea Seehorn also won Best Actress for her work on Pluribus at those same Golden Globes, adding to the show’s growing trophy case. The series also picked up several Critics’ Choice Awards, including yet another Best Actress win for Seehorn.

So yes, that joke was probably best left on the cutting room floor, mostly because of how inaccurate it turned out to be. The Sean Penn joke, on the other hand? One hundred percent accurate.