Conan O’Brien mocked the Emilia Pérez scandal during his Oscar hosting debut Sunday night.
“I love Anora — Anora uses the f-word 479 times,” he said as he took the Dolby Theatre stage for the 2025 Oscars at Ovation Hollywood. “That’s three more than the record set by [Emilia Pérez star] Karla Sofia Gascon’s publicist.”
O’Brien then added: “Karla Sofia Gascon is here tonight,” and the audience applauded as she was shown on camera. “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
Gascon’s resurfaced past racially charged tweets have caused a major controversy for the Netflix film, perhaps even derailing the film’s odds of winning Oscars. She seemingly skipped the ceremony’s red carpet, however.
Other jokes from the comedian:
— “I know what you’re thinking ‘Did Conan not have work done?’ Seriously he looks his age.”
— A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, Nosferatu — these are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet.”
— “Netflix leads all studios with an impressive 18 price increases.”
— “How about those ladies Ariana and Cynthia? Wicked is nominated tonight in 10 categories. It’s the perfect movie for anyone who finished The Wizard of Oz and thought, ‘But where did all the minor characters go to college? That’s the story.’”
— “I loved The Brutalist. I didn’t want it to end. And it didn’t.”
— “Conclave’s logline is: ‘A movie about the Catholic Church, but don’t worry.’”
— “Timothee Chalamet is up for best actor. He’s nominated for his portrayal of Bob Dylan. Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly … He’s also in Dune 2. Dune 2. I’m told director Denis Villeneuve banned smart phones on the set. Apparently his actors kept Googling, ‘What is his movie about.’”
— “In Babygirl, Antonio Banderas plays a man who doesn’t know how to give his wife an orgasm. He said it was the most challenging role of his career.”
The monologue followed a cold open performance by the stars of Wicked, with Ariana Grande singing “Over the Rainbow,” Cynthia Erivo singing “Home,” and then both performing “Defying Gravity,” earning an enthusiastic standing ovation.
The 61-year-old late night and podcast veteran has previously hosted the Emmys twice, but this is his first time hosting the Academy Awards. He also managed to stay on track to host the show despite the loss of both his parents in December.
O’Brien previously told The New York Times last month that there would be some political jokes, but he would try not to alienate viewers.
“There’s going to be political jokes here and there; there have to be,” he said. “But if it’s a screed, I’m doing a disservice to everybody. I’m actually doing a disservice to the people who might agree with the screed, in my opinion. However anyone voted should not be a prerequisite for whether you enjoy the show. I feel very strongly about that
When asked why he took on the notoriously “thankless” of hosting the show, O’Brien explained, “I still think the Oscars has meaning. Really good cinema — especially when it’s from different countries, different points of view — has an incredible amount of resonance and importance right now, and this is the night that celebrates that. To be a part of it is meaningful to me. I don’t think of it as a thankless task — even if I just do it once, and no one’s interested in me doing it again, it will have been a meaningful experience for me. My parents aren’t here to see it, but I know it would have been a huge deal to them.”
Here’s the full list of winners of the 2025 Oscars.
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