Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted the Oscars four times, responded to Conan O’Brien’s first time hosting the ceremony with a dash of late-night wars comedy.
On his ABC late-night program Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday, Kimmel stated, “Conan O’Brien did a great job as host of the Oscars.” “In fact, they said, I read today, Conan did so well, the Oscars announced that Jay Leno will host next year.”
O’Brien, who was then the well-liked host of NBC’s Late Night, was assured that The Tonight Show would remain at NBC throughout the disastrous Tonight Show transfer. However, NBC executives were not quite prepared to fire his predecessor, Jay Leno, when it came time for him to take over The Tonight Show in the fall of 2009, so they created a primetime talk show for him instead. After only a few months, O’Brien was forced to leave The Tonight Show, and Leno was reinstated as host by NBC.
The day O’Brien announced his retirement from The Tonight Show in January 2010, Kimmel, who saw the 2009 drama unfold from his ABC perch, was scathing of Leno’s treatment of O’Brien and even mimicked him in his JKL monologue, complete with full hair and makeup.
Here is Kimmel’s Monday monologue, which included his response to the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office confrontation as well as further Oscar takeaways.
