Oscars 2025: Conan O’Brien’s Drake-Kendrick Lamar Joke Writer Breaks Silence On Feud Reference; ‘Someone Put Me in Contact...’

Conan O’Brien’s joke writer for the Oscars 2025 opened up about the Drake and Kendrick Lamar reference in the script. Scroll down to read the details.

Written by Rashi Desai , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 04, 2025 | 12:23 PM IST | 8.8K

Conan O'Brien via Getty Images

Conan O’Brien’s joke writer for the Oscars 2025 has come in defense of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake joke, which was cracked by the talk show host at the award ceremony.

With the comedian taking center stage at the 97th edition of the Academy Awards, O’Brien took a dig at the ongoing feud between the rappers by saying, "We're halfway through the show, which means it's time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile.” He went on to cover up by stating, “Don’t worry, I’m lawyered up.”

Breaking the silence over the controversial joke of the night, the writer, Skyler Higley, celebrated the joke on his X account. Higley went on to reveal that he had bet on the line with the executive producer of the event, and that’s how much he won over the joke being praised with applause.

As for the caption of his social media post, the joke writer stated, "I wrote the Kendrick Lamar joke and bet our executive producer $50 that it would kill. just made $50.”

Meanwhile, Higley has previously worked alongside the comedian and the Oscar host on his TBS talkshow. The writer is also known for his work in After Midnight.

Later in the evening, Higley shared yet another post, where he wrote, “Someone put me in contact with Kendrick. Thanks.”

Further in conversation with TMZ, the script writer shared that the joke was not intended to hurt the emotions of any of the celebrities but to showcase the cultural relevance of the feud at the ceremony. It also included the recent performance of Lamar at the Super Bowl halftime.

Adding to his statements, Higley went on to say, "The idea that it’s being taken as a real call-out or taking sides in any way in the beef is absurd.”

In his diss track, Lamar called Drake a “colonizer” and a “pedophile” in the lyrics of the rap.