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"Conan O'Brien Exposes Bizarre Oscar Statue Rules for Promos"

by Charlotte Apr 09,2025

In a surprising twist of events, Conan O'Brien shared on his podcast "Conan Needs a Friend" that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences turned down his creative promotional ideas for the Oscars. O'Brien, who was the host for the ceremony, had envisioned a humorous series of ads featuring himself in a domestic partnership with a towering 9-foot Oscar statue. However, the Academy had strict guidelines about how the Oscar statue could be portrayed.

Keep that Oscar upstanding. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP.

O'Brien recounted one particular idea where he imagined the Oscar statue lounging on a large couch while he vacuumed around it, playfully asking the statue to lift its feet or help with chores. Despite the light-hearted nature of the concept, the Academy firmly rejected the idea of the statue being shown horizontally. "One of the people from the Academy came forward and said, 'Oscar can never be horizontal.' And that blew my mind," O'Brien remarked, likening the Oscar to a sacred relic.

The Academy's rules extended further, insisting that the Oscar statue must always be depicted "naked." This rule dashed another of O'Brien's ideas, which involved the statue wearing an apron and serving leftovers, portraying it as a housewife.

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While the Academy's decisions might seem peculiar, they are within their rights to enforce such rules. It's unfortunate that viewers missed out on O'Brien's comedic vision for the promos. Fans are hopeful that O'Brien will return with equally entertaining ideas for the Oscars in 2026, continuing to showcase his unique humor.