Comedian Conan O’Brien is hosting the Oscars for the second year in the row and fired a shot at the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in his politically charged opening monologue
Conan O’Brien didn’t hold back the punches in his opening monologue at the Oscars, as he seemingly took aim at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Midway through his opening monologue, Conan made a joke about the former prince’s recent arrest.
He started by noting that no British star had been nominated in the Best Actor or Actress categories for the first time in years. He then said: “A British spokesperson said: ‘Yeah but at least we arrest our paedophiles…'”
The joke follows the recent arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for misconduct in a public office following the release of the Epstein files. His arrest was not related to any allegation of sexual misconduct. However across the Atlantic it reignited demands for accountability from Epstein’s survivors and US lawmakers, who called for a full investigation into the late sex offender’s many high profile associates in the US.
The former prince has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Andrew’s arrest after months of speculation about his relationship with his deceased paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein.
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Just two days after he hosted last year’s Academy Awards, Conan was announced to be returning for this year’s ceremony. Academy CEO Bill Kramer and its president, Janey Yang, said it was an “honour” to work with him in 2025. They described him as “the perfect host – skilfully guiding us through the evening with humour, warmth and reverence”.
Conan joked at the time: “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” taking a jab at The Brutalist star’s speech after he won Best Actor. The star had spoken for so long that the orchestra tried to play him off, when Adrien then told them to stop, stating: “I’ve done this before.”
Last year, most of Conan’s jokes were aimed at the films nominated. He joked that Wicked was the “perfect movie” for those who “finished watching The Wizard of Oz and thought, Sure, but where did all the minor characters go to college?”
He also poked fun at Best Actress nominee Karla Sofia Gascon, who had found herself in hot water after offensive tweets she had written years before resurfaced. He said: “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
Conan did reference some real world moments as well, but with less humour. He spoke about the LA wildfires that had devastated the city at the start of the year. He noted that “any awards show can seem self-indulgent” after such a tragedy and but added that it was good that the “joy of film” had stuck around.
Ahead of the 2025 ceremony, Conan told The New York Times that he didn’t want to be too political as he felt everyone should be able to enjoy the Oscars regardless of how they voted. This year, during a conference ahead of the Oscars, he said that striking the balance between “entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities” is a “dance”, but that he would “find the right tone”.
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