Conan 'Weirdly Out-of-Touch' at MTV Awards

Remember when Conan O'Brien seemed like the coolest, hippest guy in late night, back when the youngsters were rooting for him over Jay Leno? Well, those days are over, at least according to Daniel D'Addario. While hosting the MTV Movie Awards last night, O'Brien "seemed weirdly out-of-touch," D'Addario writes on Salon, "straining to please an audience he couldn’t possibly understand." D'Addario compares O'Brien to a dad awkwardly trying to fit in with his kids. Though Conan once occupied the center of "the network-TV conversation," he's "now almost entirely outside" of it, watching Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert "[rise] to prominence on the broadcast dial" while he himself has been unable to "adjust to a new era."

Over at HollywoodLife, Tierney McAfee strongly disagrees, calling O'Brien "hands-down the most hilarious host in MTV history." And as for Colbert's ascent, well, O'Brien claims he's not upset about that. While rehearsing for the award show Friday, O'Brien told the AP he never wanted to replace David Letterman on the Late Show. "I'm very happy where I am, but I love Stephen," he said. "I think Stephen is great. I'm a huge fan of his as a comic and as a human being. I think it's fantastic. I'm really glad that he got the job. I look forward to seeing his show. ... I'm glad that it's the right person getting it." (More MTV Movie Awards stories.)