Jimmy Kimmel is no stranger to hosting the Oscars, so he can definitely give a qualified opinion on how Conan O’Brien did on Sunday night. And according to the ABC star, O’Brien did “such a good job” that, next year, the gig will go to Jay Leno.
“Conan O’Brien did a great job as host of the Oscars,” Kimmel joked on Monday. “In fact, they said, I read today, Conan did such a good job, the Oscars announced that next year they’re giving it to Jay Leno to host.”
The joke was, of course, calling out O’Brien’s history with Leno and “The Tonight Show.” Back when O’Brien was the host of “Late Night,” he was promised a jump to hosting “The Tonight Show” to keep him at NBC.
But when it came time for the switch, Leno remained at NBC, getting his own primetime talk show. Shortly thereafter, Conan quit and Leno was reinstated on “The Tonight Show.”
Elsewhere in his monologue, Kimmel poked fun at Adrien Brody, who won Best Actor for his performance in “The Brutalist,” and promptly set a record for the longest acceptance speech in Oscars history.
“Brody’s speech was so long, he got played off the stage twice. The first time they tried to play him off, he told him to stop, so the band stopped,” Kimmel recalled. “Who knew you could even do that? And then he gave like another minute and a half long!”
The ABC host was also delighted by Kieran Culkin’s acceptance speech, in which he surprised his wife with a request for a fourth child.
“And we have good news. Adrien Brody’s speech went on so long, the Culkins were able to conceive and deliver a six-lb. baby girl,” Kimmel joked. “Her name’s Anora.”
You can watch Kimmel’s full monologue in the video, above.
