Conan O’Brien leaves Timothee Chalamet squirming alongside girlfriend Kylie Jenner before roasting Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan in awkward Oscars 2026 monologue
Conan O’Brien had Timothee Chalamet squirming as he called out the Oscar nominee’s ‘opera and ballet’ jab controversy in front of his Hollywood peers at the start of the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The comedian, 62, returned as host for the second year in a row after taking over the coveted role from fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
And he wasted little time putting Chalamet, who is up for Best Actor, on the spot in his opening monologue for the star’s recent bizarre declaration that ‘no one cares’ about ballet and opera.
‘Security is extremely tight tonight. I’m just going to mention that,’ tuxedo-clad O’Brien said to the crowd inside Los Angeles’ iconic Dolby Theatre.
He then quipped, ‘I’m told there’s a concern about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.’
The camera then quickly cut to Chalamet, who could be seen nervously smiling beside his busty girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
Conan O’Brien had Timothee Chalamet squirming as he called out the Oscar nominee’s ‘opera and ballet’ jab controversy in front of his Hollywood peers at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night
O’Brien wasted little time putting Chalamet, who is up for Best Actor, on the spot for his recent bizarre declaration that ‘no one cares’ about ballet and opera
‘They’re just mad you left out jazz,’ O’Brien jokingly added.
Chalamet wasn’t the only A-list star to be called out by O’Brien.
Chalamet’s Best Actor rival Leonardo DiCaprio was declared the ‘king of memes’ by O’Brien after years of his facial expressions going viral on social media.
He’s the star of so many movies and the king of memes. He’s the king of memes, this guy,’ O’Brien said.
O’Brien then forced DiCaprio to create a ‘new meme’ in real time as he remained in his Oscars seat.
The camera cut to DiCaprio, who looked on awkwardly, as O’Brien captioned the living meme, ‘That feeling when you didn’t agree to this.’
DiCaprio, proving to be a total professional, turned his head to the camera nearest to him and offered a playful smirk and a shrug.
Michael B. Jordan, who is competing against DiCaprio and Chalamet in the Best Actor category, was trolled by O’Brien over his portrayal of twins in the Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed horror flick Sinners, which is also up for Best Picture.
‘By the way, I have to say, again, Michael B. Jordan, you are incredible playing identical twin brothers in Sinners,’ O’Brien began.
‘I cannot get enough of this man. It was a special treat every seat filler at tonight’s oscars will be Michael B. Jordan,’ he joked before the camera cut to a sea of Jordans seated together in white tuxedos.
O’Brien asked the Jordan clones, ‘By the way, how am I looking tonight, Michael B. Jordans?’
O’Brien later made fun of DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another co-star Sean Penn, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Chalamet’s Best Actor rival Leonardo DiCaprio was declared the ‘king of memes’ by O’Brien after years of his facial expressions going viral on social media
The camera cut to DiCaprio, who looked on awkwardly, as O’Brien captioned the living meme, ‘That feeling when you didn’t agree to this’
‘Lots of memorable scenes from One Battle After Another,’ he said of the acclaimed Paul Thomas Anderson film.
‘Best Supporting Actor nominee Sean Penn, of course, got an erection at gunpoint. And then Paul Thomas Henderson said, let’s put that in the film,’ O’Brien teased.
O’Brien kicked off his opening monologue by joking that he’s ‘honored’ to be the ceremony’s ‘last human host’ as a jab at growing fears of AI replacing human jobs.
‘Yes! Yeah! Next year it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux,’ he quipped.
He warned the audience that things at the 2026 ceremony could ‘get political’ before taking aim at MAGA music superstar Kid Rock.
‘And if [things getting political] makes you uncomfortable, there’s an alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock,’ O’Brien said.
He further joked that the Kid Rock hosted ceremony would be held at the adult arcade ‘Dave & Busters down the street,’ before hilariously adding, ‘A lot of tickets for that.’
O’Brien mercilessly mocked Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos to his face as he joked that it was the streaming billionaire’s first time in a theater.
“‘This is what they’re talking about. Why are they all together enjoying themselves?”‘ said O’Brien as he impersonated Sarandos with a gravely, troll-like voice.
‘”They should be home alone where I can monetize it!”‘
While Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was not in attendance, that didn’t stop O’Brien from railing into the streamer’s Amazon Studios for having ‘any nominations this year.’
Michael B. Jordan, who is competing against DiCaprio and Chalamet in the Best Actor category, was trolled by O’Brien over his portrayal of twins in the Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed horror flick Sinners
It was a special treat every seat filler at tonight’s oscars will be Michael B. Jordan,’ O’Brien joked before the camera cut to a sea of Jordans seated together in white tuxedos
‘Also shut out, Walmart, Alibaba and Chewy,’ O’Brien joked. ‘Why isn’t the website I order toilet paper from winning more Oscars?’
As is tradition, O’Brien also poke fun at each of the films up for Best Picture.
He said that the name of Yorgos Lanthimos’s film Bugonia, which stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, sounds like a type of lunch meat as he joked, ‘Had a little Bugonia around 10 o’clock. It’s not sitting too well.’
O’Brien teased Chloe Zhao’s Shakespeare historical drama Hamnet, which stars Best Actress nominee Jessie Buckley, for a message that appears at the start of the film.
‘At the beginning of Hamnet a message comes on the screen explaining that the names ‘Hamnet’ and Hamlet’ were used interchangeably,’ O’Brien explained before taking a brief pause.
‘That’s when I knew I’d better buckle up.’
He then took a jab at the American health care system while recalling hw Shakespeare’s wife Agnes (played by Buckley) ‘gives birth by herself in the woods’ in the film.
‘As we call that here in America: affordable health care.’
O’Brien’s monologue hit a more serious note as the comedian touched on the ‘frightening’ state of the world while lauding the Oscars for being an ‘international event.’
‘Everyone watching right now around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,’ he began. ‘It’s at moments like these that I believe the Oscars” are particularly resonant.’
O’Brien shared that ’31 countries across 6 continents are represented’ at the 2026 ceremony and that ‘every film we salute is the product of thousands of languages, working hard to make people speaking different something of beauty.
‘We pay tribute tonight not just to film but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today: optimism.
‘So, let us celebrate not because we think all is well but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.’
Before taking the stage as host, O’Brien walked the red carpet with his wife Liza Powel O’Brien
O’Brien soaked up the spotlight in a black tuxedo
O’Brien hosted the 98th Academy Awards ceremonial red carpet roll-out just days before the actual ceremony in Hollywood; seen on March 11
The 98th Academy Awards are celebrating the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Conan O’Brien, 62, is returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.
The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers (played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan
The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formally known as the SAG Awards.
Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet’s controversial comments about how ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community.
Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships.
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Helmed by 2021’s Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare’s home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.
Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another landed in second place with 13 nominations, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Teyana Taylor
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, netted nine Oscar nods, with leading man Timothee Chalamet up for Best Actor and the movie nominated for Best Picture
The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn).
Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category.
Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year’s ceremony.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father’s rejection and a creature’s quest for love.
Meanwhile, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father.
Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good.
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, which is also up for Best Picture
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia earned a Best Actress nod for Emma Stone
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein secured nine nominations. Leading the film’s acting honors is Jacob Elordi, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of the Creature
She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.
Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme.
There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold – Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler – Sinners.
The ceremony kicks off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
