Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Want to Distract From Tragedy of Reiners’ Deaths

Conan O’Brien does not want his name to distract from the enormity of the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Ahead of the Oscars this weekend, which O’Brien is hosting, the former talk-show host redirected a question from The Hollywood Reporter about how he and his wife have processed the deaths, since their killing occurred after they attended O’Brien’s party, to focus on the loss.

“Very simply, we had a party, we invited our really good friends, and then, the next day, this terrible thing happened,” O’Brien said. “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. If you’re a known person, your name is going to get dragged into things sometimes, but it is not a hardship. There is only sadness that they’re gone.”

The Reiners and their son, Nick, had attended a party at O’Brien’s on Dec. 13. They were found dead on Dec. 14, and Nick was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Nick pleaded not guilty on Feb. 23.

O’Brien, who has not discussed the Reiners’ deaths on his podcast, first addressed what happened in a New Yorker interview last month. Before their deaths, he and his wife had grown closer to the Reiners. “They were just such lovely people,” he said. “And to have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful.”