If it was big laughs and shock that the Academy Awards wanted, then Conan O’Brien certainly delivered!
The first-time Oscar host took the stage at the Dolby Theater for the show on Sunday, March 2, and he did not hesitate to push the envelope with his opening monologue.
Some viewers found his daring commentary hilarious and witty, while others blinked in disbelief over his jokes.
Highlights
- Conan O’Brien left viewers in disbelief as he hosted the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2.
- The first-time Oscar host roasted stars like Adam Sandler, Karla Sofía Gascón, Drake, and several others.
- O’Brien was criticized for having “totally butchered” the Hindi language as well.
- “The latest most boring host ever,” one critic said, while a fan wrote, “he’s always got a clever way with words.”
Conan O’Brien left viewers in disbelief as he hosted the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2
Image credits: Nigel Waldron / Getty
Kicking off the awards ceremony with a bang, a pre-taped segment saw the TV host crawling out of Demi Moore’s body from The Substance in a tuxedo.
As he walked onstage, he asked, “Hi, Demi. How are you? That was weird. Yeah, awkward. I’m missing some car keys.”
But soon after, he launched into his opening.
“Welcome to the 97th Academy Awards,” he said. “It’s Hollywood’s biggest night that starts at four in the afternoon. Everyone here just had brunch — I don’t understand it.”
But he cut right to the chase after introducing the prestigious evening and addressed the elephant in the room: all the controversy that surrounded Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón’s offensive social media posts.
“Little fact for you: Anora uses the F-word 479 times,” O’Brien said. “That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist,” before pitching his voice to imitate the actress’s reps — “You tweeted WHAT?!”
The talk show host roasted Karla Sofía Gascón for her recent controversy
Image credits: notgwendalupe
He then gave a little dance onstage while the cameras cut to Gascón, who appeared to be in on the joke as she made prayer hands.
O’Brien chimed in with, “Karla, if you’re going to tweet about the Oscars, remember, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
“Karla, if you’re going to tweet about the Oscars, remember, my name is Jimmy Kimmel,” O’Brien told the Emilia Pérez star from the stage
Image credits: notgwendalupe
While some cringeworthy moments and possible outrage were expected from O'Brien’s monologue, what nobody expected was seeing the comedian switch to a foreign language in the middle of his spiel.
Addressing viewers from India, he said, “Bharat ke logon ko namaskar wahan subah ho chuki hai toh mujhe ummeed hai ki naashte ke saath Oscars kar rahe hain,” which is Hindi for “Greetings to the people of India, it’s morning there, so I hope you’re having breakfast with the Oscars.”
“Good attempt, but frankly, Conan totally butchered the Hindi greeting!” a social media user pointed out.
The first-time Oscar host was slammed for having “totally butchered” the Hindi language
Proving that there’s nothing more charming than some self-deprecating humor, the comedian took a dig at himself while listing out the names of some of the Oscar-nominated films.
“A Complete Unknown… A Real Pain, and Nosferatu... these are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet,” he said during his monologue. “I think two were fair.”
He even took a shot at the Oscar-nominated period drama, The Brutalist, which has a runtime of about three-and-a-half hours.
“The Brutalist also received 10 nominations. I loved it, and didn't want it to end. Luckily, it didn't,” joked the 2025 Oscars host.
Anora, which won best picture at the 97th Academy Awards, also featured in a joke that had viewers gasping. The movie had already won the Oscar in the Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay categories before O’Brien’s joke.
“‘Anora’ is having a good night. Yeah, that’s great news. Two wins already,” the comedian said. “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”
Delving deeper into the department of self-deprecating humor, the talk-show host compared himself to Antonio Banderas’ character in Babygirl—the Nicole Kidman-starring erotic thriller that did not receive any Oscar nominations.
“In the film Babygirl, Antonio Banderas plays a man who doesn’t know how to give his wife an orgasm,” the host began.
“Banderas describes it as the most challenging role of his career...should have come to me, man, should have come to me,” he quipped.
Viewers said Canadian rapper Drake might file a lawsuit over one of O’Brien’s jokes
Another joke that had mouths wide open during the Academy Awards ceremony was a jab at Drake, who was called an alleged p*dophile in Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us.
Lamar not only took home a Grammy for the hit track but also performed a portion of the song during his halftime performance at the 2025 Super Bowl.
“Well, we’re halfway through the show, which means it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a p*dophile,” O’Brien said. “Don’t worry, I’m lawyered up.”
Viewers joked about the Canadian rapper filing a lawsuit over the joke.
“Drake is writing the lawsuit for Conan and the Oscars as we speak,” one said.
Another wrote, “Drake boutta sue the statue now.”
Image credits: champagnepapi
In another unexpected moment, the Oscar host humorously made Adam Sandler walk out of the show for not sticking to the dress code for the glitzy night.
“Adam, what are you wearing? … You’re dressed like a guy playing video poker at 2 a.m.”
The crowd couldn’t contain their laughter as Sandler retorted in his beloved Sandler style, “Did my snazzy gym shorts and fluffy sweatshirt offend you so much that you had to mock me in front of my peers?”
“Conan you are gross,” one social media user said about the show
Fans were amused by the moment, with one commenting, “At least Adam Sandler can take a joke without anyone getting slapped.”
“So much love to Adam,” another said. “A million hearts burst together when seeing him sitting in that seat in his bright blue hoodie. So much love coming through Adam. He’s like a crystal human transmitting a frequency of love.”
While there were plenty of fun moments, courtesy of O'Brien, some viewers criticized him for certain “disrespectful” remarks.
When he introduced presenters Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb, he referred to them as his “hall passes” during the show.
The term is often used to refer to individuals whom one can have romantic encounters with outside their relationship or marriage.
“The hall passes joke felt disrespectful idk,” said one social media user after O’Brien, who has been married to wife Liza Powel O’Brien since 2022, made the joke.
“Conan double doink with the hall pass bit. next. #newhost #maybenextyear #Oscars,” read another comment.
A third said, “'My two hall passes' Conan you are gross.”
“I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian,” O’Brien said as he spoke about Anora
Ahead of the awards show, O’Brien spoke to Reuters and said he was “determined” to make sure he upheld his responsibility of celebrating actors and the beautiful craft of film, as well as acknowledging important current events.
“I think as host I cannot ignore the moment we’re in right now, but also it’s threading a needle,” he said at a press conference. “I want to do it with humor and also make sure the night doesn’t drift into only about that.”
But he also threw in promises of a festive evening, joking that he wasn’t going to hesitate to poke fun at Hollywood figures like Ron Howard and Tom Hanks.
“I’m going to take ‘em both down,” the 61-year-old vowed.
“The latest most boring host ever,” one critic said, while a fan wrote, “he’s always got a clever way with words”
