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Conan O’Brien’s parents, Dr. Thomas Francis O’Brien and Ruth Reardon O’Brien, both passed away within three days of each other back in December 2024, obviously putting Conan through quite the trying time. And his friend Will Arnett knew just what to do to make him feel better: act as though Jason Bateman killed his parents.
After the passing of Conan O’Brien’s father, he received a text from his friend Will Arnett, who was sharing his condolences. Conan, however, immediately launched into a bit about believing that their mutual friend Jason Bateman did it.
Will Arnett consoled Conan O’Brien following the death of his parents by pretending that Jason Bateman killed them
“I hear that your dad passed away and I text you that day or the next day and I said, ‘Hey, listen. I’m sorry to hear about your dad’s passing, sending love from our family to yours,'” Arnett recalled. “And you wrote, ‘Thank you, Will. To be honest, I blame [Jason] Bateman.'”
“I wrote, ‘It’s not a terrible theory,'” Arnett said. “And Conan texted me back, ‘He killed my dad.'”
Just a few days later, O’Brien’s mother, Ruth Reardon O’Brien, passed away at the age of 92, leading Arnett and Conan to continue to the bit about a murderous Bateman by pretending that his SmartLess co-star was seeking the address of Conan’s sister.
“[I texted,] ‘Um, Bateman is asking for your sister’s street address. Okay to give?'” Arnett said. “And you were busy that weekend and like a day and a half later you texted back, ‘Just seeing this now. Fantastic. 625 Boyleston Street, Apartment 12C. Tell Bateman to make it look like a robbery.'”
The texts between Conan, Will Arnett, and Jason Bateman are hilarious. 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. pic.twitter.com/pRn9l3kH4K
— Zito (@_Zeets) December 9, 2025
“You know what’s weird? I swear to God, this is how I grieve,” Conan admitted. “It was so comforting for me to screw around with you guys at that moment. It just was. And if that makes me a madman, then so be it.”
Arnett was on Conan’s podcast to promote his new film Is This Thing On?, which was directed by Bradley Cooper. Arnett stars in the film, which hits theaters on December 19, alongside Cooper, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds.