Oscars, Conan O'Brien dropped a witty Drake joke. This had everyone crying when the host said, "Well, we're halfway through the show, which means it's time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drak

Conan O'Brien's joke about Kendrick Lamar and Drake was a hosting highlight of the 97th Annual Academy Awards. However, that joke was allegedly hotly debated by ABC.

Conan O'Brien's well-landed joke halfway through Sunday night's Oscars -- about Kendrick Lamar calling Drake a pedophile -- was nearly left in comedy purgatory, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ

Conan O'Brien's joke writer wants everyone who missed the comedic timing of his Oscars bit about Kendrick Lamar and Drake's beef to just say that -- there was no malice

Conan O’Brien referred to the rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar at the Oscars 2025. O’Brien, while hosting the biggest awards night, seemingly threw shade at Canadian rapper Drake.

Shortly after it aired, comedian and writer Skyler Higley—a former writer on Conan’s self-titled late-night show and a member of the team of writers Conan assembled for his Oscars gig—tweeted his thanks to the Academy for keeping the joke in,

Conan O’Brien shocked the Oscars with a joke about the ongoing beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake, and it’s one that earned the joke writer some cash. Comedian and writer Skyler Higley was the brains behind the joke,

Oscars joke writer Skyler Higley defended the Kendrick Lamar and Drake joke he wrote for the 97th Academy Awards monologue. He explained the joke was in reference to the cultural moment and that O'Brien was not taking sides in the rappers' feud.

Conan O’Brien quipped about Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s years-long beef and Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show during the 2025 Oscars. A little over two hours into the Oscars broadcast, O’Brien, 61, joked, “Well, we’re halfway through the show, which means it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile.”

Drake was the butt of the joke at another global broadcast this weekend when Conan O’Brien referenced Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance at the Oscars. The writer of the joke took to X and peeled back the curtain on how the moment came to be.