Conan O’Brien paid an emotional tribute to Rob and Michele Reiner at a Los Angeles gala on Sunday, saying he is still struggling to process their deaths.
The 63-year-old comedian saw the Hollywood director and his wife at his Christmas party, where they arrived with their 32-year-old son, Nick, just hours before Nick allegedly killed them on December 14, 2025. Nick has pleaded not guilty and remains in solitary confinement while awaiting trial.
Over the weekend, O’Brien attended the Children’s Institute’s eighth annual Cape & Gown Gala at the Beverly Wilshire hotel alongside the couple’s other children, Jake, 35, and Romy, 28.
Speaking at the event, he reflected on the loss of his friends and the importance of preserving their legacy. “It’s so devastating and surreal that Rob and Michele are not with us anymore,” he said, according to People.
“Multiple times a week, it will hit me that they’re not here. It leaves you feeling very hollow.”
O’Brien also emphasized the need to continue supporting the causes that mattered deeply to Rob and Michele.
Conan O’Brien, 63, remembered Rob and Michele Reiner at Sunday’s gala in Los Angeles and said he is still coming to terms with their deaths; pictured in March
O’Brien saw the director and his wife at his Christmas party with their son Nick, 32, just hours before they were allegedly killed on December 14, 2025; the couple pictured in 2014
“This event, and the Children’s Institute, meant so much to them. It’s a way to imagine and realize that they’re here and still working,” he continued.
“They started something, and we keep them with us. We keep them close by joining in and doing the work, because that’s what they were all about.”
Jake and Romy presented Jamie Lee Curtis, a longtime friend of the Reiner family, with the inaugural Michele & Rob Reiner Champion for Change Award.
The ceremony was one of the siblings’ first joint public appearances since the deaths of their parents.
Other guests at the star-studded gala included O’Brien’s wife, Liza Powel, and comedian Chelsea Handler. Singer John Mayer performed live during the evening.
The Cape & Gown Gala is an annual fundraiser organized by the Children’s Institute, or CII. This year, the organization introduced the Michele and Rob Reiner Champion for Change Award to honor the couple’s “lifelong commitment to improving the lives of children and families and strengthening communities across Los Angeles, throughout California, and beyond.”
“I can’t think of a more meaningful way to honor the legacy of my sister Michele and my brother-in-law Rob,” Martine Singer, the Children’s Institute’s president and CEO, said in a statement issued in August.
“I had the privilege of watching them devote their lives to creating a more just and compassionate world for children and families. Their work was never about recognition—it was about making a lasting difference. Michele and Rob embody what Children’s Institute has believed for 120 years: that strengthening families and advancing equity go hand in hand.”
“Multiple times a week, it will hit me that they’re not here. It leaves you feeling very hollow,” O’Brien said at the eighth annual Cape & Gown Gala; pictured with wife Liza Powel and Chelsea Handler
O’Brien attended the gala with Jake, 35, and Romy, 28, the late couple’s other two children
Jake and Romy presented Jamie Lee Curtis, a longtime friend of the Reiner family, with the first Michele & Rob Reiner Champion for Change Award
The award was established in partnership with Jake and Romy.
“Our parents taught us what it means to be good, decent human beings. They didn’t just talk about it; they led by example. They took the unconditional love they had for us and applied it to all of their advocacy work, including their support for the Children’s Institute and our aunt Martine,” Jake said in a press release.
Romy added: “They were incredibly proud of Martine and the way she led the organization, and they believed deeply in CII’s mission. When Martine asked whether the award could be named after them, it was not only an honor but also made complete sense. Connecting our parents’ names with CII’s work on behalf of children and families is a meaningful continuation of what they stood for.”
O’Brien first spoke publicly about the killings in February, telling The New Yorker, “It’s just so awful.”
“I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them,” he said, explaining that he and his wife “were seeing them a lot.”
“They were just such lovely people. To say goodnight to somebody, watch them leave and then learn the next day that they’re gone—I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. There’s no other word for it.”
“I think about how Rob felt about what was happening in the country and how involved he was, how much he put himself out there—and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend,” O’Brien added.
Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, had been married for 36 years. They were found stabbed to death at their $13.5 million estate in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood on December 14.
O’Brien discussed the killings publicly in February, telling The New Yorker, “It’s just so awful”; O’Brien and Reiner pictured in 2024
The three Reiners attended O’Brien’s December 13 holiday party, where the filmmaker and his son were reportedly involved in a “very loud argument”; Reiner pictured with Nick in 2016
Nick was arrested later that night and held without bail. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Reports later revealed that all three Reiners had attended O’Brien’s December 13 holiday party, where Rob and Nick were said to have become involved in a “very loud argument.”
In December, Our News Outlet reported exclusively that O’Brien stopped a guest from calling 911 during an explosive confrontation between Rob and Nick at the comedian’s home.
Nick was reportedly behaving erratically throughout the evening. One source familiar with the party said the dispute became so intense that at least one guest suggested contacting police.
“The father and son got into an argument. It became so bad and loud that someone wanted to call the police,” the insider claimed.
“But Conan stepped in and said, ‘It’s my house, my party, I’m not calling the police.’ He talked them out of calling.”
A source close to the Los Angeles Police Department said no 911 calls were placed from O’Brien’s home that night.
The Reiners had reportedly brought Nick to the high-profile gathering to “keep an eye on him.”
Nick had been living in a guesthouse at his parents’ Brentwood mansion after years of substance abuse problems, at least 18 stays in rehabilitation and periods of homelessness.
Sources told TMZ that his schizophrenia had been worsening and that he became “erratic and dangerous” after doctors changed his medication weeks before the tragedy.
Guests at the A-list party reportedly described Nick as displaying “antisocial behavior,” including staring at attendees and repeatedly asking whether they were famous.
Nick was arrested hours after his parents’ bodies were found and charged with two counts of first-degree murder; pictured in court in February
A source told NBC News that Nick at one point “interrupted” comedian Bill Hader. Hader reportedly told him he was “in the middle of a private conversation,” prompting an angry reaction.
“Nick just stood there and stared before storming off,” the witness said.
Several hours later, Rob and Michele were found dead at home. Their daughter Romy, who lives across the street, discovered the bodies at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Nick was arrested at around 9 p.m. that night, approximately 15 miles away.
A source close to the Reiner family recently told Our News Outlet that Nick has been “rapidly deteriorating” in custody and is now “like a babbling child, totally out of it,” making it difficult for his lawyers to communicate with him.
Nick’s next court appearance is scheduled for January 13, 2027.
