Conan O’Brien stunned the Oscars audience with an unexpected joke about the Kendrick Lamar and Drake Super Bowl beef.
Last month, Lamar performed the sporting event’s halftime show, playing songs including his chart-topping diss track against the rapper, “Not Like Us”. The track features multiple references to the “God’s Plan” artist’s alleged interactions with younger women.
Responding to Lamar’s claims that he is a “certified paedophile”, Drake previously said the rapper was spreading false information by “misdirecting s***” and defended himself by saying he is “too famous” to get away with such allegations.
O’Brien addressed the furore while hosting the 2025 Oscars, quipping: “We’re halfway through the show, which means it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a paedophile in a diss track “Not Like Us.”
The joke made quite an impression with the crowd, who could be heard gasping in shock. He then suggested he wasn’t scared about making the joke as he had “lawyered up”.
Earlier in the ceremony, O’Brien drew groans for his joke about controversial Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón.
During the awards campaign, Best Actress nominee Gascón found herself at the centre of a string of controversies after accusations of racism and Islamophobia when social media posts resurfaced.
Despite Gascón being in the audience, O’Brien didn’t hold back when addressing the subject during his otherwise tame opening monologue.
“Anora uses the ‘F-word’ 479 times – that’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist,” the comedian and TV personality said.
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He continued: “Karla Sofía Gascón is here tonight – and Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
Netflix distanced itself from the star of the movie musical – with reports claiming that Gascón would have to pay for her own flight should she wish to attend the ceremony. It’s unknown if this was the case.
O’Brien, who presented the talk shows Late Night and Conan, was referencing the fact that Kimmel hosted the ceremony in 2023 and 2024.
For the last five weeks, this year’s nominated films, including Sean Baker’s critical darling Anora, Brady Corbet’s sweeping epic The Brutalist and pope drama Conclave, have been battling it out in what has become the closest awards race in years.
While Netflix’s divisive Emilia Pérez was an early frontrunner, amassing an impressive 13 nominations in total, a furore involving lead star Karla Sofía Gascón has seen the musical’s chances drift.
Meanwhile, actors who are in contention to become Oscar winners include Demi Moore (The Substance), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Emilia Pérez’s Zoe Saldaña.
Find the full list of winners here.
