Conan O'Brien banned from making Oscar statuette jokes

Conan O'Brien, the host for the 2025 Oscars, shared that the Academy banned several of his joke ideas. Many of these jokes involved the Oscar statuette, which has been a controversial topic in recent years. One rejected joke featured O'Brien with a large Oscar statue on a couch, humorously asking it to help with chores. The Academy prohibited this idea, stating the statue could not be shown in a horizontal position. Another idea involved dressing the Oscar in an apron, but that was also rejected. O'Brien noted that the introduction to the show was also changed from his original concept, which included a mix of performances and visual gags.