The Oscars even have jokes. Conan O'Brien was the host for the 97th annual Academy Awards ceremony that was held on Sunday (March 2) in Los Angeles and fans can't get enough of the scathing joke that O'Brien said about Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

“Well, we're halfway through the show, which means it's time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile,” O'Brien said at the 2025 Oscars as the crowd erupted in laughter. The comedian is referring to Kendrick's five-time Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us” where he refers to Drake as a pedophile. On the song, Lamar raps: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile,” referring to Drake's 2021 album. He performed the song during his headlining set at the Super Bowl last month despite Drake allegedly wanting to stop the performance of the song.

“CONAN CALLIN DRAKE A PEDO ON NATIONAL TV WAS SO OUT OF POCKET PLS HOST EVERY OSCARS CONAN,” one fan wrote.

“Wow Conan O’Brien VIOLATES Drake‼️ He said he is Lawyered Up… Damn the Beef ain’t EVER going to be Over,” another fan reacted.

While some fans found O'Brien's joke hilarious, others slammed the comedian for calling Drake a pedophile without proof.

“How disgusted I was at @ConanOBrien calling @Drake a pedophile at the @TheOscars
– it was distasteful, and the accusation hasn't been proven. To make light of it was disgusting. He should sue every last one of you. Black ppl finding joy in this is sad to me,” a fan wrote bashing O'Brien.

“Conan O’Brien is a disgusting piece of sh**. Karma is a b**** and he’s gonna pay for calling Drake a pedophile despite proof he’s not on stage. Him and the braindead audience are all projecting, and they’ve made Drake’s case stronger than ever!” another fan spoke out against O'Brien's joke.

O'Brien ended his joke with  “Don’t worry, I’m lawyered up,” referring to Drake's legal actions against UMG, Spotify, and iHeartMedia. 

Oscar Joke Writer Responds To Viral Joke About Drake, Kendrick Lamar

Article Continues Below
More Entertainment News
Max
New to Max in June 2025Burtland Dixon ·
Cowboys, Netflix
New to Netflix in June 2025Burtland Dixon ·
Disney+ logo on TV in living ahead of the new titles coming in June 2025.
New to Disney+ in June 2025Andrew Korpan ·
Netflix, new to netflix this weekend
New to Netflix this Weekend (May 29-June 1, 2025)Burtland Dixon ·
Apple TV+ logo in front of beach to represent June.
New to Apple TV+ in June 2025Andrew Korpan ·
Hulu logo in front of beach to represent June.
New to Hulu this Weekend (May 29-June 1, 2025)Andrew Korpan ·
Drake
© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

While the joke was a hit or miss whichever way you look it at it, it caused conversation online even a day after the Oscars has aired. The writer of the joke, Skyler Higley, who previously worked for O'Brien on his TBS show Conan and is now on staff at  CBS’ After Midnight, revealed that he won a $50 bet with his executive producer about the now-viral joke.

“Wrote the Kendrick Lamar joke and bet our executive producer $50 that it would kill. Just made $50,” Highly wrote on X.

As fans of Drake began attacking Highly online calling him hypocritical about not calling out “white pedophiles” he responded to the backlash.

“Good morning to Drake fans and also to people who like good music,” Higley wrote on X, adding in another post, “Why don’t you try to call out the white pedophiles? Well I also wrote the conclave joke about the Catholic Church try again.”

O'Brien alluded to the sexual abuse in the Catholic church with the joke written by Highley: “The movie ‘Conclave’ is up for best picture tonight. If you haven’t seen ‘Conclave,’ its logline is, ‘A movie about the Catholic Church…but don’t worry.'”