Conan O’Brien’s Oscars monologue started with him crawling out of Demi Moore’s back โ and ended with a musical number. The opening also mixed in jokes about the best picture nominees, with a poignant tribute to those who work behind the scenes.
A hilarious opening featured the podcaster and former late-night host emerging from Mooreโs back like Margaret Qualleyโs character in a scene from the Oscar-nominated โThe Substanceโ to get ready for the show.
โWhere is that shoe?โ he joked while rooting around in the opening of Mooreโs back.
โHi Demi, how are you?โ he said to Moore in the crowd. โThat was weird.โ
Moore jokingly mouthed โawkward.โ
Introduced as โfour-time Oscar viewer Conan OโBrien,โ he moved on to a quip about Netflixโs price increases, artificial intelligence, Amazonโs Jeff Bezos and jokes about each of the best picture nominees.
OโBrien also called โWickedโ โthe perfect movie for anyone whoโs ever finished watching โThe Wizard of Ozโ and thought, โSure, but where did all the minor characters go to college?โโ
But the moment that sent a gasp through the crowd was when O’Brien addressed the controversy of โEmilia Pรฉrezโ star Karla Sofรญa Gascรณn involving alleged old tweets she posted.
He continued by noting that the Oscar-nominated โAnoraโ features the โf-wordโ 479 times.
โThatโs three more than the record set by Karla Sofia Gascรณnโs publicist,โ OโBrien said, miming an anxious publicist on a phone call and inspiring a gasp from the crowd.
He then addressed Gascรณn directly in the audience.
โAnd Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel,โ he said, in reference to last yearโs host.
OโBrien also took aim at โA Complete Unknownโ star Timothรฉe Chalametย in his yellow suit in the crowd.
โLove that suit,โ he said. โYou will not get hit on your bike tonight. Safe.โ
A recurring bit that drew laughter from the audience was OโBrien saying that the ceremony will feature cuts to โJohn Lithgow in the audience looking not angry, but slightly disappointed.โ
The camera then showed the 79-year-old โConclaveโ star with his best weary look.
โThat just freezes you in your tracks,โ OโBrien joked.
The host also threatened any winners who ran long during their acceptance speeches that he would play โhardballโ by showing one of their old head shots. He started with one of โThe Brutalistโ star Guy Pearce and his picture from the 1980s.
โThere you are,โ he said. โI loved you with Guns โNโ Roses, you were amazing.โ
O’Brien also showed one of the 29-year-old Chalamet โ that was actually just a picture of a sonogram โ before showing a shot of himself as a young boy.
โThat was taken when I was 38 years old,โ he joked.
He then addressed Adam Sandler in the crowd, where he was dressed in his typical hoodie and basketball shorts amid a sea of tuxedos and dresses.
O’Brien switched gears into a more serious tone to thank all of the behind-the-scenes workers in Hollywood who suffered as a result of the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles.
He acknowledged that while people in Hollywood could seem โself-indulgent and superfluous,โ theyโve been through an โordeal.โ
โEven in the face of terrible wildfires and divisive politics, the work continues,โ he said.
He wrapped up by saying he was not going to waste any more time in the famously bloated broadcast … before launching into a four-minute song about not wasting time. It featured the sandworm from “Dune 2” playing the piano and a dancing Deadpool.
O’Brien then ceded the stage to Robert Downey Jr. to present the best supporting actor award and get the award presentations underway.
Ahead of the ceremony, O’Brien shared a photo on X of him playing an acoustic guitar with an old-timey pipe in his mouth as he got ready for the show.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in November 2024 that O’Brien would host this year’s Oscars ceremony.
โAmerica demanded it and now itโs happening: Taco Bellโs new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, Iโm hosting the Oscars,โ OโBrien said in a statement at the time.
On Feb. 27, he literally helped roll out the iconic red carpet for the Academy Awards by helping unfurl it at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
โSlowly, letโs not kill anybody,โ he joked as he joined a group of workers rolling out the carpet.
O’Brien’s gig followed that of another late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, who emceed last year’s Oscars ceremony and has hosted the show four times.
The former host of โLate Night with Conan OโBrienโ and โThe Tonight Showโ joins a lineage of Oscar hosts that includes Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock and Hugh Jackman.
While this is O’Brien’s first time as host of the Academy Awards, he has experience hosting prominent awards shows and high-profile gatherings. He hosted the Emmys in 2002 and 2006 and the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 1995 and 2013.
The 2025 Oscars are broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in Los Angeles at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The official red carpet show will start at 6:30 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Theย 2025 Oscars are available to watchย on ABC and stream live on Hulu. Among theย most-nominated filmsย are โEmilia Pรฉrezโ with 13 nominations and โWickedโ with 10.
The list of performers includes Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Queen Latifah, Raye and Doja Cat, among others. The ceremony will also feature a special appearance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Followย TODAY.comโs live blogย for complete Oscars coverage, includingย this yearโs winnersย and unexpected moments.ย
