Conan O’Brien says he regrets being pulled into media coverage surrounding the shocking murders of Rob and Michele Reiner.
The couple were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood, California, home in December 2025. Their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and is currently awaiting trial in connection with the killings.
Just hours before the murders, Rob and Michele had attended a holiday party hosted by O’Brien and his wife.
According to reports, the gathering was meant to bring friends together after a difficult year, particularly following devastating wildfires that destroyed homes across Southern California earlier in 2025.
During the party, Nick Reiner allegedly became involved in a loud argument with his father, drawing attention from other guests.
Authorities later concluded that the killings likely occurred later that same night.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, O’Brien addressed the tragedy publicly for the first time.
“Very simply, we had a party, we invited our really good friends and then, the next day, this terrible thing happened,” O’Brien said.
He added that any attention placed on him and his wife during the investigation felt insignificant compared to the loss suffered by the Reiner family.
“Whatever difficulties my wife and I have experienced having our name attached to it are nothing compared to the scale of the tragedy for the family and the loss of Rob and Michele,” he said.
O’Brien noted that being a public figure often means having your name connected to stories beyond your control.
“If you’re a known person, your name is going to get dragged into things sometimes,” he said, emphasizing that the real focus should remain on the victims and their family.
Rob and Michele Reiner are survived by two other children.
In the same interview, O’Brien also discussed the changing landscape of late-night television.
He said a viral appearance on the YouTube interview series Hot Ones in 2024 made him realize how dramatically the media environment has shifted.
“If a guy can do World Series numbers with overhead that looked, to me, to be about $600, and you have every big star lining up to do his show,” O’Brien said, “that’s when I profoundly understood that late night shows are in trouble.”
