In December 2024, Conan O’Brien lost both of his parents within days of one another. However, as devastating as their back-to-back deaths were for him, it didn’t stop the late-night host from cracking jokes about the situation. And according to Will Arnett, who appeared on O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, late last year, O’Brien was making light of things almost immediately after his father died. When Arnett heard about the elder O’Brien’s passing the next day, he texted O’Brien his condolences, and received an unexpectedly humorous response.
“Thank you, Will. To be honest, I blame Bateman,” O’Brien wrote back, referring to Arnett’s Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman. To add some context, O’Brien and Bateman were embroiled in a bit of a fake feud leading up to this, stemming from O’Brien not inviting Bateman to his annual Christmas parties. Arnett replied to O’Brien’s text by saying that it wasn’t a terrible theory, and O’Brien decided to keep the bit going, declaring, “He killed my dad.”
At one point, Bateman reached out to O’Brien, telling him he’d heard he was on to him, and O’Brien urged Bateman to turn himself in.
Conan O’Brien Turned His Parents’ Deaths Into a Jason Bateman Murder Conspiracy
Following O’Brien’s mother’s death, Arnett took things a step further with a joke of his own. “Bateman is asking for your sister’s street address. OK to give?” he asked. O’Brien followed up with the requested details and passed along word for Bateman to make it look like a robbery. Unusual as this all might sound, O’Brien explained that it was simply his way of grieving. He went on to say that it was comforting to be able to screw around with Arnett and Bateman in those moments, regardless of whether or not it made him look like a madman.
Arnett told O’Brien that he understood where he was coming from and remembered thinking to himself that laughing and doing bits was what O’Brien wanted at the time. “I know the vibe. And obviously our heart was with you, and we love you, and all that stuff,” said Arnett.
You can listen to O’Brien and Arnett discuss things further in the clip above.