Skip to main content

Jason Bateman, man responsible for the death of Conan O’Brien’s parents, is never going to forget it

Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde in Ozark

Grief is a strange beast, and there really is no one single way that you’re supposed to handle it. For comedian Conan O’Brien, humor was the way to do it. When O’Brien’s father passed last year and Will Arnett reached out with his sympathy, the comedian hilariously responded “I blame [Jason] Bateman.”

Recommended Videos

“The texts between Conan, Will Arnett, and Jason Bateman are hilarious,” X user Zito wrote on a video of the Team Coco podcast. “Conan lost both of his parents and somehow joking about Bateman killing them is so dark and yet such a sweet way to help a friend grieve.”

After being told of the exchange by Arnett, Bateman continued with the bit, texting O’Brien, “Arnett tells me you’re onto me.”

O’Brien goes on record stating that his father would have loved this. Sadly, two days after his passing, O’Brien’s mother also passed away unexpectedly. Arnett’s text in response to that news? “Bateman is asking for your sister’s street address.”

You can tell that this is a tight-knit friend group, because only close friends with similar humor could get away with this kind of ribbing during the worst moments of somebody’s life. And sometimes that is exactly what you need, instead of an endless streamy of sympathy.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Author
Image of Rachel Tolleson
Rachel Tolleson
Rachel (she/her) is a freelancer at The Mary Sue. She has been freelancing since 2013 in various forms, but has been an entertainment freelancer since 2016. When not writing her thoughts on film and television, she can also be found writing screenplays, fiction, and poetry. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her cats Carla and Thorin Oakenshield but is a Midwesterner at heart. She is also a tried and true emo kid and the epitome of "it was never a phase, Mom," but with a dual affinity for dad rock. She also co-hosts the Hazbin Hotel Pod, which can be found on TikTok and YouTube.

Filed Under:

Follow The Mary Sue: