During Late-Night’s Last Stand, Fans Want to Know: Where the Hell is Conan O’Brien?
There’s been so much outcry about the cancellation of Stephen Colbert, it’s been hard to think about much else. David Letterman is speaking out. Jon Stewart is cursing up a storm. Seth Meyers is leaving the NBC studio. Both Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have been put in Trump’s crosshairs. It’s a real star-studded affair. The only comedian who hasn’t really joined the endless support train for Colbert is Rob Schneider. And yeah, fork found in kitchen.
But suspiciously absent from the Weird Al musical numbers, Instagram statements and calls for Trump’s resignation is one of late night’s most prominent figures. In a tweet announcing the surprise guests for Colbert’s Monday night show, one person responded to the extensive lineup with the seemingly confusing question: “what about the redhair?”
Any true fan knows that “redhair” is the one and only Conan O’Brien.
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Since the news broke on July 17th, Conan’s social account posted one tweet: a promo for a podcast interview. It’s like O’Brien isn’t scrolling through his news feeds, or watching Andy Cohen make a guest appearance on Colbert. Either way, after five days, his silence is notable.
On Reddit, fans have stated that they hope Conan will make an appearance on the show before it ends (which, there’s 10 months left, there’s time). But in all of the urgency surrounding Colbert’s cancellation and the preceding controversy between Paramount, Donald Trump and Colbert, this many days without a comment feels like an eternity.
Back in 2019, Colbert made an appearance on Conan Needs a Friend, and the duo spoke about “bonding like brothers.” And so, his absence from a Colbert taping can most probably be explained by location: O’Brien is based in L.A., and The Late Show films at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City. It’s less clear why O’Brien hasn’t released an Instagram Story or a Notes app screenshot. After all, we’ve heard from O’Brien’s late-night collaborator, Andy Ritcher, and a slew of other Hollywood big shots.
Until he inevitably enters into the Colbert fray, here’s a video of Conan with the late Ozzy Osbourne, doing an absolutely incredible bit about raising staff morale. The folks over at The Late Show could probably use something similar — maybe Conan can stand in for Ozzy this time around.
