Conan O’Brien mocks ‘The Substance’ with Demi Moore, pokes fun at Karla Sofía Gascón: Oscars monologue
Conan O'Brien has become the latest in a long line of comedians to host the Academy Awards, following in the footsteps of Billy Crystal, Jimmy Kimmel, and Ellen DeGeneres.
Prior to his 15-minute Oscars monologue on Sunday, O'Brien emerged from the back of Demi Moore, Best Actress nominee for The Substance, in a hilarious spoof of that body-horror film. However, he forgot his shoe so he had to reach back into Moore's body to retrieve it. "I'm missing some car keys," he later told her.
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Hosting the Oscars was "very exciting," he proclaimed after scolding the audience for not giving him a standing ovation. "I know what you're thinking: did Conan not have work done? Seriously. He looks his age. I should have done something. It's Hollywood's biggest night that starts at 4 in the afternoon."
He then deadpanned, "Netflix leads all studios with 18 — count 'em, 18 — price increases." The five-time Emmy-winning talk show host also took swipes at Oscar nominees like The Brutalist (for being too long), Conclave (for the way Ralph Fiennes pronounces his first name), and Anora (for using the F-word more than Karla Sofía Gascón's publicist).
Speaking of Gascón, the embattled Best Actress nominee, if she did plan on tweeting about tonight's Oscars, "Remember, my name is Jimmy Kimmel," O'Brien declared. He then told Timothée Chalamet that he "will not get hit on [his] bike tonight" because his suit was neon yellow.
If anyone's speeches go on too long, O'Brien won't play them off with music, he revealed. Instead, he'll cut to John Lithgow in the audience looking "slightly disappointed." O'Brien laughed out loud at Lithgow's pure dedication to the silly bit.
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Just as O'Brien started complimenting the A-listers for dressing so nicely, he caught Adam Sandler in the audience wearing "snazzy gym shorts and a fluffy sweatshirt." Sandler was so embarrassed that he decided to leave in disgrace, but not before shouting "Chalamet!" in Chalamet's face, a direct reference to Nikki Glaser's joke at the Golden Globes.
O'Brien took a moment to address the recent wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles community. "Any awards show can seem self-indulgent and superfluous," he told the crowd. "Yes, we will honor many beautiful and talented A-list stars. But the Oscars also shines a light on an incredible community of people you will never see: crafts people, artisans, technicians, costumers ... I can't name them all, there are too many. Hardworking men and women behind the camera who have devoted their lives to making film." A QR code on the bottom of the screen encouraged viewers to donate to fire relief efforts.
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The monologue ended with a musical number titled "I Won't Waste Time," in which O'Brien explained all of the ways in which he would keep the show moving. He brought out two of his friends, Sandworm Playing Chopsticks on the Piano and Dancing Deadpool, and then announced that the show was already over time.
SEEThe ABCs of the 2025 Oscars, from ‘Anora’ to Zoe Salda?a
Earlier this week, O'Brien revealed that he sought advice from past Oscar hosts. "I've spoken with Billy, who I think is the all-time great," he explained. "He will always be the top. And one of the first contacts I had was from Jimmy Kimmel and his beautiful wife Molly [McNearney], who reached out to me. They could not have been lovelier to me. They've been very supportive and very friendly."
O'Brien and his infamous pompadour have hosted the Emmy Awards twice (in 2002 and 2006), but this was his first time emceeing the biggest awards show on the planet. He's mostly known for being the ringleader of his own quirky talk show, which took on several iterations through the years, including Late Night (1993-2009), The Tonight Show (2009-10), Conan (2010-21), and now Conan O’Brien Must Go (2024-present).
The 2025 Oscars aired March 2 on ABC and Hulu. See the complete winners list and sound off in our forums.
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