Credit Where Credit Is Due, Jimmy Kimmel Had the Best Joke About Conan’s Oscar Night

Four-time Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel had to watch Conan O’Brien do the job that’s usually his this past weekend, but Kimmel handled his replacement’s performance with respect and grace. See, Leno? It’s really not that hard.

Despite this year’s Oscars suffering a decline in viewership compared to the Kimmel-hosted 2024 Academy Awards, given the absence of a Barbenheimer-level draw, neither critics, viewers nor Academy Awards organizers have offered anything less than glowing praise for Conan’s performance as the evening's master of ceremonies. Not only did Conan expertly thread the needle on mocking controversial nominee Karla Sofía Gascón’s Nazi tweets scandal and pile on poor Drake with a Kendrick Lamar nod, but the late-night legend also balanced humor and gravity with a deft touch, picking and choosing his moments to recognize heroes like the members of the Los Angeles Fire Department with respect and solemnity.

However, now that Conan has finally had his turn on the big stage, history tells us that the network executives in charge of the Academy Awards ceremony will reward Conan’s talent and class by replacing him with his own predecessor — although Kimmel himself may not be so keen on it.

During last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, last year’s Oscars host gave props to his late-night and awards show colleague. “Conan O’Brien did a great job as host of the Oscars,” Kimmel said of his successor, cracking, “Conan did such a good job, the Oscars announced that next year they’re giving it to Jay Leno to host.”

Back in January, Leno inexplicably spoke to The New York Post about how he thought the late-night host whom he famously undermined and usurped to retake The Tonight Show in 2010 would fare at this past Sunday’s ceremony, saying of Conan, “He’s a very funny guy. He’s very creative. I’ll watch, sure. He’ll do good.” Then, never to let Conan's accomplishments overshadow his own ego, Leno bragged that he had the opportunity to host the Oscars, but decided that the job was beneath him.

“I did get asked twice,” Leno said of the Academy Awards hosting gig. “And I sat down with my staff and said, ‘What do we do? We have to do a show the day before the Oscars. We have to do a show the day after the Oscars. Do we save our best jokes for our show? Or do we give all of our best jokes to the Oscar show?’”

Leno decided to pass on the opportunity, and the late-night giant has never presided over Hollywood's biggest night. But, as Kimmel pointed out, there’s always time for Leno to claim some attention for himself on Oscars night. Maybe, if Conan ever hosts the Academy Awards again, Leno will hold his own separate ceremony on the same network one hour earlier.