Even for a comedy TV veteran like Conan O’Brien, hosting the Oscars is no small task. Fortunately, he had a lot of good will and support going into the March ceremony this year as a first-time host, including from none other than John Mulaney.
To hear O’Brien tell it, Mulaney — who has his own share of online supporters wanting him to host in the coming years — sent him “one of the most meaningful texts” he has ever received in the lead-up to the March 2 event.
“Just before I went out to do the Oscars, I got a lot of texts from a lot of people. You sent me one of the most meaningful texts I’ve had in my life of encouragement,” the comedian told Mulaney at the end of this week’s “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast. “A quick text of encouragement.”
Mulaney, never one to miss a joke, quickly responded: “The eggplant?”
“The eggplant emoji,” O’Brien confirmed. “And said, ‘I hope you can fit it in.’”
“‘I hop you can fit it in.’ You know what that means right?” Mulaney asked.
“No, I don’t know. I don’t know what that means. Why would I violate myself with such a vegetable?” O’Brien said before pivoting back to sincerity. “No, you sent me a text, and I’m not kidding when I say it gave me, like, a 20% boost of confidence. So seriously, thank you very much.”
“I’m glad it meant something, you’re the best,” Mulaney said. “It was so exciting to watch that show with everything going on in the world.”
Mulaney then remembered the 97th Academy Awards not for the movies that one — because “no one saw any of those movies” — but for O’Brien’s ability to bring people together with comedy that wasn’t “message-y” and that embraced the tone and circumstance of the occasion.
“It’s a bad time in the world and no one saw any of those movies, but for that show, it was like, things seem happy and positive and we’re acting like everyone saw these and we know what they are, you know what I mean?” Mulaney enthused. “‘Oh my god! That won! It won! That’s great!’ No one saw a thing, right? No one saw a thing. But you really did put on a show that said, ‘This is a cool night, and we’re going to have fun.’ And that sounds like a very simple thing, but as we’re talking about comedy that is just not quite always mesasge-y, it’s harder to do.”
O’Brien remained mum on what Mulaney’s text said, but apparently it was just the thing he needed to hear from one comic to another.
Watch the full exchange towards the end of their “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” interview below:
