Conan O'Brien takes thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump's relationship with Putin at Oscars 2025

Conan O’Brien may have avoided politics in his opening monologue at the 97th Academy Awards, but as the night progressed, he appeared to take a thinly veiled dig at Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - and the live audience ate it up.

Check it out below:

While acknowledging the growing success of Sean Baker’s Anora, O’Brien delivered a pointed joke that had the Dolby Theatre erupting in cheers.

“Anora is having a good night. Two wins already," O'Brien said, before delivering the punchline: "I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian."

Conan O'Brien hosted his first Oscars. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The jab was widely interpreted as a thinly veiled reference to Trump’s relationship with Putin - particularly in light of the chaotic meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just two days prior.

Trump’s Controversial Meeting with Zelenskyy

O’Brien’s joke came on the heels of a highly publicized Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Zelenskyy on February 28, which quickly spiraled into a tense exchange over U.S. military aid to Ukraine and a proposed minerals deal.

During the meeting, Trump warned Zelenskyy that he was “gambling with millions of lives and World War III” and accused him of disrespecting the United States.

"You're in no position to dictate what we're going to feel. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people! You're gambling with World War III," Trump told the Ukrainian leader.

Following the meeting, Zelenskyy took to Twitter to express gratitude for U.S. support, writing:

"Thank you, America, thank you for your support. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that."

Trump, however, painted a different picture, stating on Truth Social: "I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.

"He disrespected the United States in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."

Why Anora Was the Perfect Setup for O’Brien’s Joke

O’Brien’s remark about “standing up to a powerful Russian” tied directly into the plot of Best Picture winner Anora, which follows a Brooklyn sex worker (Mikey Madison) who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to face ruthless efforts from his billionaire family to annul the marriage.

The joke came just days after Trump's heated clash with Zelenskyy. Credit: Andrew Harnik / Getty

The film’s themes of power struggles and resistance made it an apt parallel to the ongoing political tensions between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S., giving O’Brien’s joke an extra layer of meaning.

Audience and Online Reactions

As you'd expect with this political climate, the joke obviously left viewers divided.

Some thought it was spot on, with one person tweeting: "Good on Conan for addressing the elephant in the room."

"Conan did [an] awesome f***ing job. Love that dude," another added, with one X user calling it the "line of the night".

But there were plenty of viewers left unimpressed by the comment, with one person writing: "Conan’s swipe at President Trump as not standing up to #Russia was a deep disappointment and advertisement of his idiocy."

(There were plenty of other critics, but it was hard to find tweets that didn't refer to O'Brien as an "a**hole" or a "libt*rd".)

Conan O'Brien divided viewers with the joke. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Image

Meanwhile, some pointed out that O’Brien’s more subtle approach to political humor marked a departure from previous hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, who openly clashed with Trump during last year’s broadcast.

And O'Brien made several other controversial jokes throughout the ceremony.

After warming up the audience, O’Brien addressed the ongoing backlash surrounding Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón’s resurfaced social media posts.

"Fun fact: Anora drops the F-word 479 times," O’Brien joked. "That’s three more than Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist."

Mimicking the frantic reaction of Gascón’s team, he raised his voice and exclaimed: “You tweeted WHAT?!”, before playfully dancing across the stage.

The camera then panned to Gascón, who appeared to take the joke in stride, pressing her hands together in a mock prayer gesture. Seizing the moment, O’Brien quipped, “Karla, if you’re going to tweet about the Oscars, just remember—my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”

and at the halfway mark, he made a very surprising reference to the Kendrick Lamar and Drake rivalry.

Here's the list of all the winners from the night:

Best Picture

• Winner: Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Pérez
• I’m Still Here
• Nickel Boys
• The Substance
• Wicked

Best Director

• Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
• Winner: Sean Baker, Anora
• Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
• Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
• James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

Best Actor in a Lead Role

• Winner: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
• Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
• Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
• Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
• Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Best Actress in a Lead Role

• Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
• Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
• Winner: Mikey Madison, Anora
• Demi Moore, The Substance
• Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Yura Borisov, Anora
• Winner: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
• Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
• Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
• Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
• Ariana Grande, Wicked
• Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
• Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
• Winner: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Original Screenplay

• Winner: Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Real Pain
• September 5
• The Substance

Adapted Screenplay

• Winner: Conclave
• A Complete Unknown
• Emilia Pérez
• Nickel Boys
• Sing Sing

Animated Feature

• Winner: Flow
• Inside Out 2
• Memoir of a Snail
• Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
• The Wild Robot

Production Design

• The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Nosferatu
• Winner: Wicked

Costume Design

• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Gladiator II
• Nosferatu
• Winner: Wicked

Cinematography

• Winner: The Brutalist
• Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Pérez
• Maria
• Nosferatu

Editing

• Winner: Anora
• The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Emilia Pérez
• Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling

• A Different Man
• Emilia Pérez
• Nosferatu
• Winner: The Substance
• Wicked

Sound

• A Complete Unknown
• Winner: Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Pérez
• Wicked
• The Wild Robot

Visual Effects

• Alien: Romulus
• Better Man
• Winner: Dune: Part Two
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• Wicked

Original Score

• Winner: The Brutalist
• Conclave
• Emilia Pérez
• Wicked
• The Wild Robot

Original Song

• Winner: "El Mal" (Emilia Pérez)
• "The Journey" (The Six Triple Eight)
• "Like A Bird" (Sing Sing)
• "Mi Camino" (Emilia Pérez)
• "Never Too Late" (Elton John: Never Too Late)

Documentary Feature

• Black Box Diaries
• Winner: No Other Land
• Porcelain War
• Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
• Sugarcane

Featured image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images