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Conan O’Brien

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Triumph Ruffles Quebec Feathers on 'Late Night'</p><p>(Friday, February 13 01:57 PM)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src='http://images.zap2it.com/20031113/triumph_latenightwithconanobrien_240_001.jpg' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_img' /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - During his week of taping shows in Toronto, NBC's Conan O'Brien has been cracking wise about all things Canadian to a very receptive audience.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When he unleashed Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on Quebec, though, some folks weren't amused.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In a segment of Thursday's (Feb. 12) "Late Night," Triumph (voiced by Robert Smigel) went to a winter carnival in the French-speaking province and did what he usually does -- make fun of the people there. The bit showed triumph changing street signs to read "Celine Dion Sucks Street" and "Rue des Pussies," and unleashing his invective on unsuspecting Quebeckers.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"So you're French and Canadian, yes?" Triumph -- in French, "Triomphe le chien comique d'insulte" -- asked one person. "So you're obnoxious and dull." To another carnival-goer, he said "You're in North America; learn the language."</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Friday, various members of Canada's government distanced themselves from the broadcast. Ontario's provincial government and the national government, via a fund designed to encourage tourists to visit Canada after last year's SARS scare, paid about $1 million Canadian to bring "Late Night" to Toronto.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"We want to disassociate ourselves from the comments which were broadcast last night because we do not support them in any way," junior government minister told Parliament, Reuters reports.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Alexa McDonough, a member of Parliament, went further, calling the Triumph segment "racist filth" and demanding that the government ask for the return of its subsidy.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"There may be those who would say, 'Isn't this interfering with freedom of expression?,'" McDonough says. "It's not interfering to say we will not publicly fund this kind of vile, vicious hatemongering."</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>CHUM Television, which airs "Late Night" in Canada, apologized for the segment, saying in a statement that "it is never our intention to air programing that offends any of our viewers." NBC hasn't commented.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>

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<P>Did anyone else laugh uncontrollably at this?&nbsp; I used to live in Quebec, and the sketch was right on.&nbsp; I hope Conan doesn't apologize, because it was good natured humor?&nbsp; I can't believe McDonough (she leads a party called NDP) called it racist.&nbsp; It was hilarious!</P>

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<em>I must be the only person that didn't see this.</em><strong>Conan: Sorry, Canada, I'm a 'Jackass'</strong>TODD PETERSONpeople.comUltimately, the criticism seemed too big to ignore, so late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien did what he knows best: He issued an apology -- in the form of a joke.On Tuesday's show the comedian read a statement intended to quell some of the controversy sparked during a skit by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog taped last week in Toronto. The clip featured the trash-talking puppet in Quebec poking fun at French-Canadians citizens, which some Canadian officials decried as racist.During Tuesday's show, O'Brien read from a statement that was then delivered in French with English subtitles, for the benefit of the French-speaking residents of Quebec. O'Brien began: "People of Quebec, I'm sorry." As the line was recited in French, the subtitles read: "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."Other self-deprecating apologetic statements from O'Brien, such as "We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night," were delivered in French as "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."The dustup began Thursday following a skit in which Triumph hurled insults at citizens of Quebec during a visit to the city. The puppet suggested French-speaking Quebecers "learn to speak English," among other things.The issue of Quebec sovereignty and the rights of its French-speaking population is a sensitive subject among Canadians, and the skit drew increasing criticism from politicians who suggested that the government seek reimbursement for the $1 million Canadian ($760,000) subsidy it spent to bring the NBC show to Toronto.Conan O'Brien's "Late Night" was supposed to help boost Toronto's suffering tourism economy after last year's SARS outbreak.

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Conan Helps Fund Couple's Wedding

 

Conan O'Brien has helped to fund a young couple's wedding, according to People.

 

Two weeks ago, the late-night host announced that he would follow someone at random on Twitter.

 

O'Brien later revealed that he had chosen 19-year-old Sarah Killen.

 

"I've decided to follow someone at random," O'Brien wrote. "She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs."

 

Killen claimed that the attention she has garnered from O'Brien will help to fund her upcoming wedding.

 

"He's changed my life," she said. "I'm getting married on September 25, and we didn't know if we would be able to afford it. Now I'm getting custom made shoes and a dress from Kelima in New York… We've got it all covered now."

 

Killen went on to state that she had invited the comedian to her wedding in September.

 

O'Brien is currently planning a live comedy tour with Max Weinberg and Andy Richter.

 

Source digitalspy.co.uk

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Conan O'Brien 'Touring For His Staff'

 

 

Conan O'Brien has reportedly decided to tour so that he can employ his former Tonight Show staff.

 

The comedian announced 'The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour' yesterday, promising a night of "music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence".

 

TMZ has now claimed that O'Brien will not make any money from the live shows but has launched them to keep his former staff employed.

 

40 people have reportedly been hired for the tour, including several former members of the Tonight Show crew.

 

Meanwhile, O'Brien has now added extra dates to his tour because demand for tickets is so high.

 

Source digitalspy.co.uk

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Poor bastard-where were all these "fans" when he was hosting The Tonight Show? Now they come out of the woodwork to support him. Too little, too late. I liked his style for the first 5 years or so that he hosted The Late Show, but he changed and got too moronic and I lost interest. Seems to be a nice guy, but I don't miss him late night.

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Poor bastard-where were all these "fans" when he was hosting The Tonight Show? Now they come out of the woodwork to support him. Too little, too late. I liked his style for the first 5 years or so that he hosted The Late Show, but he changed and got too moronic and I lost interest. Seems to be a nice guy, but I don't miss him late night.

Some of his fans, me included, celebrated when he was moved to Leno's earlier time slot because it meant a better chance of staying awake to watch him. But honestly, it doesn't matter to me who is on at 11:30 pm ~ I'm asleep early these days and I don't DVR. But I will buy tickets to his show because I know I will laugh my head off and enjoy the evening.

 

I admit I don't like the moronic stuff any of the late night hosts do but I love the way Conan has no problem making fun of himself such as the French interpretation "I wet the bed like a little girl". The man wants to work even with the millions handed to him. It's nice to see that work ethic not to mention it keeps him out there in front of people. Eat your heart out, Leno. There's nothing left on NBC to watch.

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Conan Says YES To TBS

 

Of all the codas that could have grown out of NBC's very long and very weird late-night reshuffle, this is one nobody could have seen coming: Conan O'Brien is taking his show not to Fox, as was previously speculated, but to TBS, where he'll now act as a lead-in to George Lopez's Lopez Tonight. The migration to a cable network was always a possibility, but the conventional wisdom was that Comedy Central would make the best fit for Conan's comic sensibilities, rather than TBS, whose slogan is "Very Funny," but hasn't done the best job of solidifying a brand. It's a choice fraught with peril for Conan: does the move to TBS raise the network's cachet, or lower Conan's?

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Lol, how ironic is that? Wonder how George Lopez feels getting bumped back by Conan's new deal??? Sounds like TBS has been taking lessons from NBC...

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George is just fine with it, he reportedly helped to convince Conebone to go to TBS, plus he gets a great lead-in which will help him in the ratings. It's win-win. Since Conan isn't going to a network, it leaves the door open for him to take over Letterman's show, eventually.

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George is just fine with it, he reportedly helped to convince Conebone to go to TBS, plus he gets a great lead-in which will help him in the ratings. It's win-win. Since Conan isn't going to a network, it leaves the door open for him to take over Letterman's show, eventually.

 

Yes, I did read that Lopez is fine with it but I don't believe it for a minute--that's just the spin TBS wants everyone to believe. Supposedly, Jay Leno was also "fine" with NBC forcing him into retirement so that Conan could take over the Tonight Show. Fact is that the bosses call the shots and will do whatever they want to do if they think it will bring more money/power/recognition for them. I just find the irony funny considering all the fuss made over the Leno/O'Brien business. We'll find out that Lopez isn't/wasn't "fine" about it if his show ends up tanking once O'Brien starts there.

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