When most people discuss the best late-night talk show hosts of all time, two names come up first and foremost, Johnny Carson and David Letterman. However, there are a lot of people who feel like other late-night hosts belong in the conversation. For example, even though Craig Ferguson seems to be happy to no longer be a talk show host, he was so personable and funny in the job that he arguably is one of the greats. Similarly, now that Conan O’Brien recently ended his late-night talk show after hosting it for decades, a lot of his devoted fans are pointing out how great his legacy has been.
As anyone who tuned into his show will be able to attest, one of the main reasons why Conan O’Brien was such a great talk show host is that he had an extremely mischievous sense of humor. Given the biting jokes that Conan delivered on national television, it wouldn’t have been too shocking if it came out that he was really hard to work for. However, based on all of the accounts, Conan’s employees love him, including John Krasinski who worked for him years ago. Even though it seems to be easy to get along with Conan O’Brien, it has been suggested that he might be feuding with one beloved star.
Amy Poehler's Big Break
Over the years, a lot of people who would go on to become big stars got a major break in their careers when they were given the chance to perform on Conan O’Brien’s talk shows. In many cases, that came about when Conan gave a then-unknown comedian a chance to perform their standup on his stage. When it comes to Amy Poehler, however, Conan hired her to appear on his show in character several times over two years.
Before Amy Poehler was hired to appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, her only credits were appearing in a single episode of five different shows, three of which have long since been forgotten. As a result, when Poehler began portraying Andy Richter’s little sister Stacy on Conan’s show, it was a very big deal for her career. Ultimately, Poehler would appear in eight episodes of the show and as series writer told the Washington Post in 2021, Amy was a lot of fun in the role. "I’ve always been in awe of her incredible talent, but seeing her, Conan, and Andy [Richter] have so much fun in that sketch is an especially wonderful memory for me and I’ll never forget it."
Amy’s Many Appearances On Conan
After Conan O’Brien played a small role in helping to launch Amy Poehler’s career, she went on to become a big deal due to her undeniable comedic skills. Given that major stars like Poehler routinely make the rounds to promote their latest projects on late-night shows, it was only a matter of time before Amy sat in one of Conan’s chairs as a guest.
Unsurprisingly, when Conan O’Brien got the chance to interview Amy Poehler as herself, the duo’s segments together were delightful. After all, when you combine Poehler’s quick wit and delightful laugh with Conan’s perfect timing and ability to highlight his guests, the pair made a killer talk show combo, to say the very least. Thankfully for fans of the pair, Conan interviewed Poehler on his show over and over again for years.
The Alleged Feud Between Conan And Amy
As anyone who is familiar with the internet should already know by this point, there have been countless easy to disprove fan theories that have been suggested online. With that in mind, when a random fan makes a suggestion online, most people will write them off without putting much thought into their idea. For example, when Reddit user u/The_Lloyd suggested that Amy Poehler and Conan O’Brien may be feuding in a post on the r/PandR subreddit, nobody commented on his theory. However, there may just be some method to his madness when you look closer at it.
“I’ve been a fan of Conan since he started, and I loved Amy Poehler when she played Andy’s little sister. But it seems like Amy is never a guest on Conan’s show anymore and I can’t figure out why. Has anyone else noticed this or have any thoughts? The only thing I can think of is that it seems like Conan and Will Arnett are friendly so maybe after Amy and Will’s divorce “sides” were taken.”
Over the years, it has been reported that Amy Poehler and her ex-husband Will Arnett remain friends. With that in mind, some observers may write off that portion of the aforementioned Reddit fan theory. However, considering that Amy Poehler made semi-regular appearances on Conan O’Brien’s show as an actor and guest for a long time, it seems very odd that it has been years since she last went on. After all, Poehler continues to be a popular star and she has gone on lots of other talk shows in recent years. On top of that, even though fans on the r/conan subreddit have asked for Poehler to be a guest on O’Brien’s podcast, that hasn’t happened.
Of course, even though it is interesting to consider the fan theory that Conan O’Brien and Amy Poehler are feuding, the evidence that supports the idea is very circumstantial. Still, assuming the pair have no harsh feelings for one another, which seems likely to be the case, it still doesn’t feel like you need to be wearing a tinfoil hat to take the idea seriously.
