Conan O’Brien has said that he “lost his mind” during the filming of his viral appearance on the Hot Ones YouTube show.
The US talk show host was the guest on the season finale of the 23rd season of the First We Feast show, on which celebrities are interviewed by host Sean Evans while eating increasingly hot chicken wings.
During the episode, O’Brien, 60, not only completed all 10 of the wings, but he proceeded to smear the hottest sauce all over his face and even started drinking it from the bottle, while wildly exclaiming, “Why can’t I feel it?!”
Watch O’Brien’s appearance on the show below:
O’Brien appeared on CNN shortly after the episode went live and spoke to host Jake Tapper about the experience.
“I had a complete breakdown – physically, emotionally, spiritually,” he said. “If I think something’s funny, I will do it and suffer later. And that’s exactly what happened.”
“When I got home, my hand was burning. I realised that the sauce got underneath my wedding ring and was burning through my skin. Because it’s an acid, you idiot!”
O’Brien is currently promoting his new HBO travel series Conan O’Brien Must Go, itself a spinoff from his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. The former writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons concluded his run of late night talk shows in 2021 after 28 years.
O’Brien is not the first one to have an extreme experience on Hot Ones: last year, Jennifer Lawrence said she “passionately threw up” after her appearance on the show, after she was reduced to tears while eating the spicy wings.
Sydney Sweeney also recently endured the show’s trials, where a shot of her looking up adoringly with a beaming smile became a viral meme.