“God blessed me with the greatest sister anyone could ask for. Ride or die!”
Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy expressed this sentiment about his sister on social media following his sold-out show at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 17.
Jo Koy, whose real name is Joseph Glenn Herbert, also accompanied his post with a photo of him hugging his sister Gemma on stage.
“This picture is everything!” he said.
The 51-year-old celebrity further described what was happening in the photo.
“This picture right here is us crying and hugging and her yelling in my ear ‘BROTHER!! You Sold Out Madison Square Garden and YOU CRUSHED IT!!! Mahal kita Gemma! We did it!!!’” Jo Koy said.
In the post, Jo Koy recalled the struggles his sister went through just to stay by his side through “thick and thin” since he started performing college gigs.
“When she was a flight attendant she would hook me up with stand-by tickets so I could fly to crappy college gigs for free and she would meet me there and she would be so excited to watch me perform inside the student union cafeteria in front of six people,” he said.
Jo Koy further reminisced that Gemma would clap for him as if he was performing in front of an audience at the famous New York arena.
“When my business started taking off and I needed help she quit her job to work for me,” he also recounted.
Because of his sister’s sacrifices for him, Jo Koy expressed his deep gratitude for her.
“God blessed me with the greatest sister anyone could ask for. Ride or die! Thursday was the night Gemma got to see her brother actually play Madison Square Garden,” he said.
Jo Koy has received several recognitions for his sold-out shows across theaters around the world.
These include topping the Billboard Charts for his stand-up comedy album “Live from Seattle.”
Love from fans
His post soon received some love from his fans and other Filipinos on social media.
His Facebook post about it garnered 163,000 reactions, 5,700 comments and 3,800 shares so far.
Jo Koy was also showered with congratulatory remarks in the comments section.
Several people were also moved by his love for his sister.
“There’s nothing like the love of an older sister! I’m also half Filipino and half white. You make us half and half proud bro! Keep up the amazing work,” one user said.
“I love that you have so much love for all those that supported and believed in you!” another user commented.
“I got goosebumps! I love seeing siblings be each other’s ride-or-die! CONGRATULATIONS!” another user said.
Some of his fans also recalled the times they first watched Jo Koy’s shows.
“You truly deserve this and more. I discovered you over 4 years ago. I wanted to see you live. I saw you in Jacksonville on November 5th. I laughed so much for 2 hours. Love your comedy and your stories. 70 years old and hope to see you again,” one user said.
“I remember when I saw and met Jo for the first time. I was in college, in Kalamazoo and he played the State Theater; opened for Carlos Mencia,” another user shared.