Conan O’Brien has had a long career in Hollywood. The comedian is popularly known for his irreverent humor and for hosting several late-night talk shows over the decades. And the actor shared his journey in his 2011 documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. One of the persons who is seen alongside the talk show host is his assistant, Sona Movsesian.
Serving as his assistant since 2009, Movsesian shared her years-long experience with O’Brien in her memoir, The World’s Worst Assistant. In her book, she also recalled a demand made by the talk show host following Michael Jackson’s passing, which left her horrified.
Conan O’Brien’s Strange Demand Related to Michael Jackson
Sona Movsesian started working as Conan O’Brien’s assistant in 2009 after she made a “joke about laziness” during her interview. And six months into her job, she received an odd demand from her boss, who asked her to arrange a private viewing of the pop star Michael Jackson after he passed away.
“And he’s like, ‘Also, you know, you might not know this, but I was very close to Michael,” Movsesian recalled in her book, via CBC before he added, “Do you think that you could arrange a private viewing of his body so I can say goodbye?.”
Knowing that Michael Jackson had just died, she assumed he was talking about him. She wrote it down in her notebook and started working on it. Soon, she received another call from O’Brien with another request. He asked her to contact his lawyer as he wanted to adopt Jackson’s son, Blanket, now known as Bigi Jackson.
It was at this point that Movsesian figured out what was happening. O’Brien assured his assistant that he was just messing with her and said, “Did you think I really wanted a private viewing of his body?” And Movsesian shared that she was horrified after O’Brien saw that she had it all written down in her notebook.
Sona Movsesian Manifested Her Career as Conan O’Brien’s Assistant
Before she started working as Conan O’Brien’d assistant, Sona Movsesian worked in the events and operations division at NBC. Once she decided to quit her job there, she knew exactly what she wanted to do next.
The World’s Worst Assistant author shared that many questioned her what she would do after leaving her job at NBC. And she told them, “I’m going to work for Conan O’Brien.” Movsesian claimed that she said it with such confidence, but she had no idea that she would eventually end up landing the job.
“I said it with such confidence, but I had no idea how I was going to do it,” she recalled during an appearance on Q with Tom Power. She has also shared that she likes working with O’Brien as she has done it for over a decade, and the two describe their relationship as a fun but “dysfunctional” relationship.
