Comedian and former late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien finally broke his silence about the shocking murders of his close Hollywood friends, filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. Someone killed the couple in their Brentwood, Calif., home, allegedly stabbing them to death. Authorities arrested their troubled son, Nick, in connection with the crime.
Just hours before the tragedy unfolded, Rob, Michele, and Nick attended a holiday party that O'Brien hosted at his home. Authorities discovered their bodies on December 14, 2025. Nick Reiner now sits in prison awaiting trial for the brutal killings. He has a history of mental health and substance abuse issues, which likely contributed to his committing the deplorable act.
O'Brien recently sat down for an interview with The New Yorker, where he spoke publicly about the situation for the first time. “To have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward,” he said.
He added, “There’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful. And I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend.”
While Reiner was a very outspoken left-winger and never shied away from ripping into President Donald Trump, he still made a number of remarkable films throughout his career. He gave audiences one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time with Stand by Me, based on the novella The Body. Along with that classic, he also directed The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men, among many others.
“If you can make one great movie, that’s impressive. It’s almost an impossible feat. To make two means that you’re one of the greats. To make seven — in, like, a nine-year, ten-year, eleven-year period — is insanity,” O'Brien said during the interview. “With This Is Spinal Tap alone, if that’d been the only thing he ever did, he influenced my generation enormously,” he added. “It was like a splitting-the-atom moment. You have those moments where you see something truly remarkable.”
O'Brien is currently preparing to host the 98th Academy Awards, scheduled to air on March 15. The comedian and podcast host served as master of ceremonies at last year’s Oscars, and audiences received him well.
The comedian shared that he feels honored to host the Oscars, noting that he grew up watching legends like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson do it—two figures he deeply admires.
“Yeah, it was really fun. I mean, I grew up watching Bob Hope do it, Johnny Carson do it. So it’s a very cool thing to be connected to. As you know, I’m very interested in history, and this thing has been around for a hundred years—almost a hundred years—so let’s have fun with it, is my attitude,” he told The New Yorker.
The interviewer then asked what role politics plays in his preparation for the event.
“It’s tricky. I’ve done political comedy over the years, certainly. I’ve done two White House Correspondents’ dinners. On late night, we used to do lots of political comedy. We’d do it on the TBS show as well. It’s never been in the front of my comedy brain. I don’t think it’s what drives me. I, for better or worse, have a brain that scrambles things, loves cartoon imagery,” he said.
“I am probably as influenced by old movies or literature as I am by, frankly, Warner Bros. cartoons. And it all gets mixed around in my head. It’s very impulsive. I don’t know where my sense of humor comes from, but I know that, when I do political comedy or I make a political joke, it has to really resonate with me. And I can’t tell you what that is, but it has to feel true to my comedic voice or it feels hollow,” he continued.
He later explained that he doesn’t find making jokes about President Donald Trump particularly funny because he can never top the “outrageous” things Trump says himself, so he usually avoids the topic. He also said that comedians who allow Trump to anger them too easily surrender their greatest weapon: humor.
“Your best weapon is to be funny. And if it just evolves into name-calling… I mean, I am all for people trying. And, when there’s a really good joke about the President or the Administration, if there’s a joke about the right or the left and it’s a good one, I’m elated. I just think that in the current climate, things have gotten so stretched out—think about that Dalí melted watch—that it’s hard to find purchase,” he told the outlet.
Help PJ Media continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration's accomplishments as we continue to usher in the Golden Era of America. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member