- Conan O’Brien hosted last night’s Oscars
- The late night host took aim at Trump, Drake and Karla Sofía Gascón
- O’Brien’s performance as host has received rave reviews
Conan O’Brien is, unsurprisingly, receiving rave reviews after his hosting of the 2025 Oscars, last night.
The legendary late night host breezed through the three hour show (although most of the ceremony was taken up by Adrien Brody’s acceptance speech for his Best Actor award, in fairness) without any hint of a lull. A cold open of the former Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons writer emerging from an unconscious Demi Moore’s back, but having to dive back in to retrieve a lost shoe – parodying Best Picture nominee The Substance – set the stage suitably for several slots of O’Brien’s deadpan brilliance.
With both shoes finally on, O’Brien’s first act – his opening monologue – began in typically self deprecating manner.
“I know what you’re thinking: Did Conan not have work done? Seriously, he looks his age” the 61-year-old began, before continuing, “A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, Nosferatu. These are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet. I think two were fair.”
Beloved musical phenomenon Wicked, a Best Picture nominee, was the first target of O’Brien, with the host joking, “It’s the perfect movie for anybody who’s ever finished watching The Wizard of Oz and thought, Sure, but where did all the minor characters go to college?”
Leaning into the furore surrounding Emilia Perez actress Karla Sofía Gascón, who’s Best Actress hopes were crushed under the weight of several resurfaced bigoted tweets from 2021, O’Brien remarked, “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel” referencing his fellow late night brother-in-arms, who has hosted the last two Academy Awards. Not done there, O’Brien continued, “Anora uses the F-word 479 times. That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist.”
But, of course, Emilia Perez and Wicked were not the only Best Picture nominees to serve as recipients of O’Brien’s zingers. The controversial use of AI in The Brutalist was referenced when O’Brien quipped, “We did not use AI to make this show. No AI. We would never do that. We use child labor. Hey, they’re still people.”
O’Brien then cracked the line, “If you haven’t seen Conclave, its logline is ‘A movie about the Catholic Church, but don’t worry.’”
One movie that wasn’t nominated, but still caught in O’Brien’s crosshairs, was Babygirl, in which Antonio Banderas plays Nicole Kidman’s husband – “a man who doesn’t know how to give his wife an orgasm” began O’Brien, “most challenging role of his career. Should’ve come to me, man.”
Following his monologue, O’Brien took down Donald Trump as he riffed on Anora’s success, quipping, “Anora is having a good night That’s great news. Two wins already. I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.” The gag was in reference to Trump’s attitude towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House recently, and his regular respect of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
But it was at the mid-point of the evening where O’Brien delivered what is already becoming the most shared line of the night, when he announced, “We’re halfway through the show, so now’s the time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile.”
Conan O'Brien at the #Oscars: "Well, we're halfway through the show, which means it's time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile." pic.twitter.com/KmbX3QjnlM
— Variety (@Variety) March 3, 2025
O’Brien’s masterclass in delivery will no doubt stand the test of time and see the former Tonight Show star remembered as one of the Academy’s finest hosts, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with iconic turns from the likes of Billy Crystal, Frank Sinatra and The Big Three of Alan Alda, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams, from the 1986 ceremony.
More of the same next year, please.
