Conan O’Brien Mocks MAGA at Oscars With Brutal Kid Rock and Epstein Digs

Why is Conan O'Brien on an Irish language soap opera?

Conan O’Brien promised that he would be staying apolitical at this year’s Oscars. But he couldn’t help taking a couple of digs at MAGA in his opening monologue. “I should warn you, tonight could get political,” the host said from the stage Sunday night.

“And if that makes you uncomfortable, there’s an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock at the Dave & Busters down the street.” MAGA’s Turning Points USA infamously staged an alternate Super Bowl halftime show opposite Bad Bunny’s main event, which was plagued by technical difficulties and was watched by a small fraction of the massive audience who watched the Puerto Rican superstar.

Conan O’Brien Takes On Trump With Brutal Epstein Dig In Oscars Monologue

Conan O'Brien makes jabs at Donald Trump, American pedophiles at 2026 Oscars

Conan O’Brien made a winning punchline of President Donald Trump and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein during his monologue at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

The Oscars host — who has largely steered clear of politics despite being a registered Democrat — teed up the joke by noting that the 98th Academy Awards marked the first time since 2012 that a British star hasn’t been nominated in either the Best Actor or Best Actress categories.

“British spokesperson said, ‘Yeah? Well, at least we arrest our pedophiles.’ So we’ve got that going for us,” quipped the late night legend, who earned 10-plus seconds of applause from the Oscars crowd.

The host’s joke arrives less than a month after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested in the U.K. on suspicion of misconduct in public office as he faced mounting pressure over his link to the late convicted *** offender Epstein.

Trump socialized and appeared in several photos with Epstein over the years. He has denied any link to the financier and has not been implicated in Epstein’s crimes.

Conan O'Brien made a not-so-subtle dig at President Donald Trump and his ties to late convicted *** offender Jeffrey Epstein during his opening monologue at Sunday's Academy Awards.

Conan O’Brien made a not-so-subtle dig at President Donald Trump and his ties to late convicted *** offender Jeffrey Epstein during his opening monologue at Sunday’s Academy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

O’Brien, who made a crack at Trump without saying his name during last year’s show, argued that the president has been “bad for comedy” ahead of Sunday, telling The New Yorker’s Radio Hour that comics who bring up Trump get “very angry” doing so and surrender their “best weapon” in the process: being funny.

But that didn’t stop him from making a joke out of Trump and his administration on Sunday.

Following a commercial break, O’Brien made a jab at the president’s Kennedy Center rebrand since he returned to office.

“Welcome back, we’re coming to you live from the ‘Has A Small Penis’ Theater,” he joked. “Let’s see him put his name in front of that.”

O’Brien’s dig arrives a little over a month after Trump flipped out on social media over variousquips from ex-“Daily Show” host Trevor Noah during his last gig as emcee of the Grammy Awards.