Conan O’Brien kicked off the 2025 Oscars in a truly memorable way. Emerging onto the stage by crawling out of Demi Moore’s spine, in a nod to the Best Picture nominee The Substance, he immediately set a unique tone. The bizarre entrance followed a performance of “Defying Gravity” by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, solidifying the unexpected start.
After the initial burst of body horror, O’Brien launched into a classic Oscars opening monologue. “‘A Complete Unknown. A Real Pain. Nosferatu.’ These are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet,” he quipped. The set of jokes were well-received, and O’Brien seemed like a safe choice for an Academy Awards filled with controversy. He didn’t shy away from the controversies and offered some jokes on Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón, who happened to be in attendance. “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel,” he joked, which was met with uncertain cheers from the audience. He also made a comment about Netflix, saying, “Netflix leads nominations with a total of 18 price increases.”
O’Brien also addressed the industry’s biggest talking point: AI. “We did not use AI to make this show,” he stated. “We would never do that. We used child labor. Hey, they’re still people!”.
In a shift toward sincerity, O’Brien paused to acknowledge the city of Los Angeles and the craftspeople who contribute to the magic of movies.
The monologue concluded with a song-and-dance number featuring the sandworm from Dune: Part Two playing “Chopsticks” on the piano, accompanied by a dancing Deadpool.
