Conan O’Brien opened his Oscars monologue with a jab at AI.
“I am honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards,” O’Brien joked. “Next year it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux.”
O’Brien wasted no time in poking fun at the latest Timothée Chalamet controversy.
“Security is extremely tight,” O’Brien said. “I’m told there’s a concern about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.”
According to Yahoo’s Taryn Ryder, who’s in attendance at tonight’s show, the whole audience laughed at that ballet joke — including Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
O’Brien then turned to the plot of Best Picture nominee Hamnet.
“Shakespeare’s wife Agnes gives birth by herself in the woods, or as we call that here in America, affordable health care,” he said. “Too real for you, huh?”
O’Brien also delivered a warning to the crowd inside the Dolby Theatre.
“I should warn you: tonight could get political,” he joked. “And if that makes you uncomfortable there’s an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock. It’s at the Dave & Busters down the street.”
Later in the monologue, O’Brien turned earnest.
“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,” he said. “Let us, please, celebrate. Let us celebrate. Let us celebrate not because we think all is well, but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.”