Conan O’Brien made few venomous comments – but at least two of them were even more so.Image: keystone
As expected, the Oscars did not become a protest show like the Grammys. But moderator Conan O’Brien allowed himself to be carried away with surprisingly sharp remarks – also in the direction of Donald Trump.
March 16, 2026, 06:33March 16, 2026, 06:57
Conan O’Brien is not Trevor Noah. Who expected this year’s Oscar presenter to set off fireworks with anti-Trump punchlines? Noah at the Grammyshe certainly didn’t have any realistic ideas. Conan O’Brien is known as a moderate and, above all, not very political.
But even if O’Brien held back overall, he provided amusement and astonishment to the glamor audience in front of him with two refreshingly unabashed moments. At one point the moderator clearly and unambiguously targeted the US President. O’Brien said:
«We’re reporting live from the Has a Small Penis Theater. Let’s see if he puts his name in front of it.”
O’Brien was referring to the controversial renaming of the “Kennedy Center”, one of the most important cultural centers in the USA, to the “Trump Kennedy Center”. The ceremony took place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. In general, Trump has a penchant for naming things, buildings, streets and everything after himself. He also recently named a program designed to give poorer Americans access to cheaper medications after himself.
But that’s not all: Donald Trump has noticeably small hands. This fact has repeatedly provided fodder for mocking commentators in the past. They like to suggest, in line with the common myth that small hands in men indicate a small penis, that the US president is not particularly well endowed either. As is well known, he often reacts emotionally to such forms of provocation.
The renaming caused protests
In the case of the Kennedy Center, Trump took control of it shortly after taking office a year ago and announced a fight against “anti-American propaganda” in the cultural world.
He fired several members of the board of trustees, took over the chairmanship himself and entrusted his confidant Richard Grenell, who was known for polarizing statements, to bring the institution, which was later renamed the “Trump Kennedy Center” amid public protest, into line. The reason given was, among other things, that the nationally known cultural center in the heart of the US capital was too “woke”.
After the small penis come the pedophiles
Back to LA: Conan O’Brien had another arrow in his quiver, which he fired right at the beginning of the show. This was not necessarily aimed at Trump personally, but at the US elite and the US judiciary in general. The latter has been criticized for weeks for its handling of the Epstein files and is facing allegations that influential and prominent names that appear in the documents are being protected.
O’Brien alluded to this when he began to talk about the absence of British actors from this year’s awards. It is the first time since 2012 that no British actors have been nominated for best actor. A British spokesman replied to his description of this observation:
“Yeah, well, at least we’re locking up our pedophiles.”
The Hollywood audience seemed taken aback for a second by the boldness of the punch line, especially since O’Brien was also taking aim at the US film elite who were sitting across from him. But then loud applause and laughter erupted in the hall.
con, supplemented with material from the news agencies SDA and DPA.