Conan O’Brien seemed to make a thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin at the 97th Academy Awards, joking about “standing up to a powerful Russian.”
“Anora is having a good night,” the comedian said, referring to the success of Sean Baker’s film, which picked up several awards Sunday evening.
“That's great news. Two wins already. I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.” The joke drew both laughs and resounding applause from the audience.
Anora follows the story of a young sex worker from Brooklyn, played by Mikey Madison, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch.
However, once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Anora tries her best to stand up to the billionaire parents and hold on to her newfound fortune.
O’Brien received praise online for the zinger, with some saying the joke was “the line of the night.” “Conan still the absolute best,” wrote one X user. “Perfect #maga's about to have a meltdown,” added another.
The joke came after the disastrous meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump and vice president JD Vance Friday. Many criticized Trump and Vance for “ambushing” Zelensky, after both Republicans demanded he show gratitude for U.S. military assistance during the war against Russia.
Trump later complained that he and Putin had both been subjected to a similar “witch hunt” following allegations that Russia helped Trump's presidential campaigns.
"Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia," the president said.
