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.
Find the full list of 2025 Oscar winners here
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 on 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 his “incredibly silly” opening monologue.
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.
He continued: “Karla Sofía Gascón is here tonight – and Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
O’Brien, who also hit out at Trump and Putin, was referencing the fact that Kimmel hosted the ceremony in 2023 and 2024.
Elsewhere, Andrew Garfield was praised for a touching interaction with Goldie Hawn and viewers hit out at a Bond tribute for being the ceremony’s “worst” moment in years.
This year’s Oscars race was the closest in years, with the ceremony considered a three-horse race between Sean Baker’s critical darling Anora, Brady Corbet’s sweeping epic The Brutalist and pope drama Conclave.
Ultimately, Anora became the evening’s big winner, taking home five trophies in total, including Best Picture.
Actors in contention to become Oscar winners included Demi Moore (The Substance) and Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) – but both lost out on the night, with Mikey Madison taking home Best Actress and Adrien Brody winning his second Oscar for his role in The Brutalist.
The actor was criticised for his “indulgent” acceptance speech after appearing to throw his chewing gum at his girlfriend, Georgina Chapman.
