Hosting the Oscars is a famously difficult gig. But Conan O'Brien didn't play it safe in his 2025 Oscars monologue, bringing up one of the biggest controversies of awards season: "Emilia Pérez" star Karla Sofía Gascón's old social media posts.
O'Brien set up the joke by saying that the titular character in "Anora," one of the Oscar-nominated films, uses the F-word "479 times" in the movie. "That's three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón's publicist," the comedian said.
The audience responded with shocked laughter before O'Brien pointed out that Gascón, who was nominated for best actress for her role in "Emilia Pérez," was present in the audience. Gascón was a good sport, laughing along as the camera cut to her.
"And Karla, if you are gonna tweet about the Oscars, remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel," O'Brien joked, referencing the four-time Oscars host.
Gascón faced backlash when old tweets re-emerged on X (formerly Twitter) in late January after she suggested fans of another best actress Oscar competitor, "I'm Still Here" star Fernanda Torres, were attempting to tear her down. The posts contained offensive remarks about everything from Muslims and George Floyd to Miley Cyrus.
Gascón apologized for her "erroneous" past opinions and deleted her X account. After posting several statements defending herself on Instagram and speaking out in an interview about the controversy, she largely stepped out of the spotlight during the remainder of awards season, keeping a low profile until Oscar night.
Conan O'Brien's Oscars monologue also poked fun at 'The Substance,' Timothée Chalamet's yellow suit, and AI
The 97th Academy Awards started off with a movie montage in tribute to Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires, followed by a trio of musical numbers: first, "Wicked" star Ariana Grande sang "Over the Rainbow," then her costar Cynthia Erivo performed "Home" from "The Wiz." Then the two transitioned into "Defying Gravity" from their hit movie musical.
After the performances, O'Brien finally showed up — emerging from Demi Moore's split-open back in a pre-taped skit spoofing her film "The Substance." He joked that he lost his car keys back in Moore's inert body.
In the monologue after the Gascón joke, O'Brien went on to assure the audience that no AI was used in the making of the Oscars, a subtle jab at the controversies "The Brutalist" and "Emilia Pérez" faced for their use of the technology. He also poked fun at the long runtime of "The Brutalist," saying "I didn't want it to end, and luckily, it didn't."
O'Brien next turned his attention to Timothée Chalamet, who was nominated for playing Bob Dylan in the biopic "A Complete Unknown." Chalamet, who was seated in the audience next to his girlfriend Kylie Jenner, turned up to the awards show in a butter yellow leather suit. O'Brien complimented the look and joked that the hue assured that the actor wouldn't be getting hit by any cars.
O'Brien packed in no shortage of jokes during the monologue, vowing that he wouldn't waste any time and cause the ceremony (which famously almost always runs late) to go past its scheduled end time. He then ended by launching into a brief musical number of his own, with lyrics that were all about not wasting our time.
During the song, O'Brien threw it to the sand worm from "Dune 2" playing "Chopsticks" on the piano — and who could possibly argue that was a waste of time?
Watch the full monologue below.
Stream the 97th Academy Awards live on Hulu.
