Los Angeles, CA Conan O’Brien trolls Timothée Chalamet in first moments of Oscar’s opening monologue. In his Oscars opening monologue host Conan O’Brien wasted no time getting to the big-stakes global controversies of the day: AI, world strife and, of course, Timothée Chalamet. “Security is extremely tight tonight,” O’Brien said. “I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.” The cameras quickly cut to a smiling, white-suited Chalamet in the audience as O’Brien then quipped: “They’re mad because you didn’t add jazz.” Nominated for Best Actor for his lead performance in ping-pong pic Marty Supreme, Chalamet has been Topic #1 on chat boards, late night comedy shows and daytime talkers since his podcast comment that nobody cared anymore about ballet and opera. Chalamet’s comments, of course, drew backlash, and more recently backlash to the backlash. After the dig at Chalamet, O’Brien then joked that he was ‘honored to be the last human host’ of the show. “Next year it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux,” he said. The comedian also poked some fun at the nominated films. His joke that the F1 sequel will be called Caps Lock didn’t land as hard as expected, which caused O’Brien to quip that some of the jokes he does are just for him. He also showed some love for his If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”co-star Rose Byrne, who is nominated, joking that it’s hard to work with someone you’ve had a crush on - before congratulating her on doing so. There was an apparent AI moment when O’Brien joked that all the seat-fillers this year would be Michael B. Jordan. Sure enough, there appeared on the broadcast to be a bunch of Michael B. Jordans in the audience. He then had Leonardo DiCaprio – who he called the King of Memes – pose for a meme! He ended his opening monologue by revealing how he would accept an Oscar – not thanking anyone but himself as he morphed into a King, complete with cape and crown as Josh Groban joined him on stage to sing how wonderful he was. *BACKGRID DOES NOT CLAIM ANY COPYRIGHT OR LICENSE IN THE ATTACHED MATERIAL. ANY DOWNLOADING FEES CHARGED BY BACKGRID ARE FOR BACKGRID'S SERVICES ONLY, AND DO NOT, NOR ARE THEY INTENDED TO, CONVEY TO THE USER ANY COPYRIGHT OR LICENSE IN THE MATERIAL. BY PUBLISHING THIS MATERIAL , THE USER EXPRESSLY AGREES TO INDEMNIFY AND TO HOLD BACKGRID HARMLESS FROM ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, OR CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED IN ANY WAY WITH USER'S PUBLICATION OF THE MATERIAL* BACKGRID UK 15 MARCH 2026,Image: 1083350669, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** HANDOUT image or SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE or FILMSTILL for EDITORIAL USE ONLY! * Please note: Fees charged by Profimedia are for the Profimedia's services only, and do not, nor are they intended to, convey to the user any ownership of Copyright or License in the material. Profimedia does not claim any ownership including but not limited to Copyright or License in the attached material. By publishing this material you (the user) expressly agree to indemnify and to hold Profimedia and its directors, shareholders and employees harmless from any loss, claims, damages, demands, expenses (including legal fees), or any causes of action or allegation against Profimedia arising out of or connected in any way with publication of the material. Profimedia does not claim any copyright or license in the attached materials. Any downloading fees charged by Profimedia are for Profimedia's services only. * Handling Fee Only ***, Model Release: no, Pictured: Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner

US-French actor Timothee Chalamet and US entrepreneur Kylie Jenner attend the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026.,Image: 1083307006, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no

KYLIE JENNER and TIMOTHEE CHALAMET