Oscars Spoof Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ Video in Conan O’Brien’s Cold Open

Listen all y’all: The 2026 Oscars kicked off in musical style on Sunday (March 15) when host Conan O’Brien took on the Beastie Boys’ 1994 hit “Sabotage” off the group’s Billboard 200 No. 1 Ill Communication.

In the spoof, the host is dressed as Aunt Gladys from Weapons — which which won best actress for Amy Madigan’s portrayal of the character — complete with the bright orange hair and white face paint. As he refuses to take the stage in his getup, the Beastie Boys’ hit starts playing as a group of wild children — rather than detectives in the music video directed by Spike Jonze — run through the door of his makeup room to chase him down.

As the comedian races through the streets of Los Angeles to put distance between himself and the little terrors, he makes pit stops with multiple Oscar nominees: pausing for a few ping pong volleys against Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), going for a ride with Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), getting animated and capturing the hearts of HUNTR/X (KPop Demon Hunters), enjoying a cup of tea with Stellan Skarsgaard (Sentimental Value) and even begging to be let into Michael B. Jordan’s juke joint (Sinners, the night’s biggest nominee with 16 nods).

This is O’Brien’s second year in a row to host the Academy Awards, which is broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. It airs on ABC and streams on Hulu.

Watch the 2026 Oscars cold open above.