Comedian Conan O’Brien upset Kid Rock while hosting the 98th Academy Awards this year. Every year, a comedian is hired to host the event, and they roast those seated in the audience. This year, during the opening monologue at the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Conan O’Brien did warn the audience that the show “could get political.” However, he then joked that for conservative viewers, Kid Rock was hosting an alternate Oscars at the Dave & Buster’s just down the street.
Meanwhile, Conan took plenty of comedic jabs, not only at the big names in the audience, but also at conservatives and President Donald Trump. However, his joke at Kid Rock’s expense didn’t work well for the country singer, who can take a joke, but doesn’t believe this was funny.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to O’Brien’s joke at his expense, but also took the opportunity to advertise his upcoming tour and hopefully sell a lot of tickets. “I love a good joke, even when I am the butt of it, unfortunately this was not a very good one,” he wrote on social media.
Conan O’Brien was playing a skit on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where, as Bad Bunny gave his well-choreographed performance, the right-wing organization Turning Point USA put on an alternative show in protest. As noted by USA Today, Turning Point celebrated “faith, family, and freedom” on their social channels with Kid Rock performing, along with Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
Turning Point USA was co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, and after his assassination in September 2025, his wife Erika Kirk became the new CEO.
I love a good joke, even when I am the butt of it, unfortunately this was not a very good one.
Either way, if you want to see a REAL good show this spring / summer that celebrates America and 250 years of Freedom – make sure you buy your tickets from (ugh) Ticketmaster for my… https://t.co/krNt2iJnHP
— KidRock (@KidRock) March 16, 2026
Kid Rock, 55, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper who initially established himself in the Detroit hip-hop scene. He finally broke through into mainstream success with a rap-rock sound, before changing his performance style to country rock. Now he can claim some fame from the Academy Awards and Conan O’Brien.
This wasn’t the only drama emanating from the 98th Academy Awards this year, when comedian Jimmy Kimmel joked about Melania Trump’s documentary. Jimmy, who hosts the late-night comedy show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! presented the award for Best Documentary this year and spoke of her new documentary, simply titled “Melania.”
Kimmel joked that some documentaries focus on serious global issues, while others show someone walking “around the White House trying on shoes.”
However, he made things worse for himself when he then indirectly insulted US President Donald Trump by saying, “Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this.”
