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Conan O’Brien is setting the record straight on his new hairstyle.
In a podcast clip obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the comedian explained that his slicked-back “greaseball” hairdo was caused by a scalp sunburn he got while attending the Obama Presidential Center grand opening in Chicago last month.
O’Brien said his “skull [was] on fire” before his scalp became “really itchy.” The former Conan host admitted he thought he was “going crazy.”
“Whenever I itch it, it looks like a snow globe. It looks like confetti — white freckled confetti is pouring off of my head. It’s disgusting.”
‘Greaseball’ hairstyle
O’Brien said that because he has “so much hair,” he isn’t “used to” covering his scalp or protecting it from getting “roasted” in the sun.
To treat the burn, he was told to “rub oil into it,” which he did without thinking about the fact that he was about to film an episode of his “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast with Molly Shannon.
“I come in and I look like I’m in Sha Na Na,” he said, referring to the 1950s band. “I’m a greaseball. I’m so greasy. I’m Frankie [Valli of the Four Seasons].”
Leaning into the hairdo
O’Brien continued, “I look like I want to fight one of you in the parking lot by swinging a chain at you in 1952, or come at you with a switchblade. I really feel different. I just want to fight people on the street. I want to get a hot rod and drive it around.”
The Emmy winner kept the greaser bit going, this time referencing the 1978 film Grease.
“I want to get Rizzo pregnant, so that Rizzo has a bun in the oven,” he said, referring to one of the film’s leading characters. “You know what I mean?”
He continued the riff, adding, “I’m one of the Thunderbirds that is easily 55 years old. I’m going to put a bubble-gum cigarette behind my ear.”
Healing process
O’Brien, who jokingly referred to himself as a “greaseball” covered in WD40, said his plan was to “keep rubbing oil into my head until my skull heals.”
The comedian also gave a shoutout to Hillary Clinton, who wore a “giant … huge” hat at the June event, keeping her scalp protected from the sun.
“She’s smart. She’s laughing at me right now,” he quipped.
‘Structurally sound’
The former Saturday Night Live writer’s new hairstyle got plenty of fans talking online. Social media users compared him to everything from a Sopranos actor to a used car salesman.
“Who hosed down Conan?” one read, while another added that “seeing Conan’s hair like this feels illegal.”
O’Brien has had that signature wave since high school. He told 60 Minutes in 2010 he needed it as a “hook” for breaking into Hollywood.
The former late night host called the style “structurally sound,” telling viewers, “If there’s an earthquake and you’re in the Pacific Northwest, get under my hair.”
