Oscars Host Conan O’Brien Takes Swipe At Donald Trump During Ceremony

US comedian Conan O’Brien took a not-so-subtle swipe at Donald Trump during this year’s Oscars ceremony.

On Sunday night, Conan presented the Academy Awards ceremony for the first time, and made a political dig when the broadcast returned from a commercial break.

Welcoming viewers back from the ad break around two thirds of the way through, he remarked that Anora had already been “having a good night” following its first two wins in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing categories.

Anora centres around an American sex worker, played by Mikey Madison, who embarks on a relationship with the wealthy son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.

However, when his family gets wind of the relationship, the action takes a messy turn, leaving the title character to defend herself from her missing husband’s intimidating family.

Referring to Anora’s Oscars success, Conan quipped: “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”

This year’s Oscars took place just days after the newly re-elected US president Donald Trump’s now-infamous sit-down with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week.

Since then, the president and his vice president JD Vance have been heavily criticised for ganging up on Zelenskyy during the meeting, and effectively taking the side of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In the end, Anora came away with five awards at the 2025 Oscars, making it the top winner at this year’s event.

Among these wins were victories in some of the night’s top categories, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Mikey Madison and Best Director for Sean Baker.

Click here for the full list of winners at this year’s Academy Awards.