Conan O'Brien's Chinese Speech at Oscars Draws Mixed Reactions Among Chinese Netizens

During the 97th Academy Awards ceremony held on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the host Conan O'Brien surprised viewers by addressing the audience in multiple languages including Spanish, Hindi, and notably Chinese. The comedic host humorously mentioned being in substantial financial debt and pleaded in Chinese for film producers to hire him in their movies. However, his noticeably awkward Chinese pronunciation caught considerable attention from viewers in China.

Shortly after the ceremony, video clips of Conan's Chinese speech were circulated widely on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The reactions from netizens were diverse. Some users found Conan's attempt at speaking Chinese highly amusing and appreciated his willingness to engage with the language despite its apparent difficulty. One netizen even suggested optimistically that with practice, Conan could eventually speak more understandably.

On the other hand, others criticized the moment as awkward both in pronunciation and content. Some netizens claimed they could not understand his message clearly, relying instead on the provided English subtitles. Additionally, there was criticism focused on the content and implications of his joke, interpreting it as a cynical view of the Chinese film industry as purely financially motivated.

Furthermore, the event sparked memories among netizens of previous instances involving Conan interacting with Chinese language and culture. Examples mentioned included Conan performing a Chinese song with Australian actor Hugh Jackman, and an interview where American director Quentin Tarantino shared with Conan a Chinese slang phrase meaning "super cool." Such moments have repeatedly attracted significant attention and have become sources of humor and cultural discussion on Chinese social media space.