Conan O’Brien reportedly declined to allow a call to police during a volatile confrontation between filmmaker Rob Reiner and his son, Nick, at the comedian’s Christmas party — an incident that sources say unfolded just hours before Rob and his wife, Michele Reiner, were found dead.
The fight between the father and son was so loud and heated, as per the Daily Mail reports initially, that a person present at the party asked another person to call 911, but O’Brien stepped in, signaling that he was against the police arriving at his place for the Christmas party.
“They got into an argument, the father and son. It got so bad and loud that someone wanted to call the police to report it,” one insider told the Daily Mail.
The source added that O’Brien stepped in and said, “It’s my house, my party, I’m not calling the police,” persuading others not to make the call.
Police Call Discouraged As Tensions Rose
A second source described a similar moment of alarm as the confrontation escalated. “When the s**t was hitting the fan, somebody said we need to call the police,” the source said, explaining that the discussion centered on possibly getting Nick placed on a mental health hold.
According to that account, O’Brien again shut the idea down, saying, “No, I don’t want the police at my house.”
Those present reportedly understood the desire to avoid a disruptive scene. One insider acknowledged, “It makes sense; who wants the cops showing up, creating a scene?” But the same person emphasized that “the argument between Rob and Nick was pretty intense.”
Sources said Rob and Michele had brought Nick to the party out of concern about leaving him alone, as his mental health had allegedly been deteriorating.
During the event, Nick’s behavior reportedly unsettled guests. He was described as asking attendees if they were “famous” and engaging in what one source characterized as an intense exchange with comedian Bill Hader.
At some point, Rob pulled his son aside to address what a source called his “asocial and unsettling behavior.”
The discussion escalated into a loud dispute that drew attention from across the room, with guests falling silent as voices rose.
Events After The Party
After the confrontation, Rob and Michele were said to have apologized to O’Brien for the disruption and left the party. It remains unclear where Nick went immediately afterward.
Authorities later alleged that Nick was captured on surveillance video walking past a gas station roughly two miles from his parents’ Brentwood home shortly after midnight, per People.
He later checked into the Pierside Hotel in Santa Monica around 4 a.m., where housekeeping would later report finding a shower “full of blood” and blood-soaked bed linens, according to published reports.
The following afternoon, Rob and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood residence by their daughter, Romy, around 3:30 p.m. Nick was arrested about five hours later at a convenience store in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park area, roughly 20 miles away.
He has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances.
Not everyone close to the family agrees with how the party incident has been portrayed.
A family friend told the Daily Mail that the situation was “misinterpreted” and “overblown,” and took issue with claims that the argument caused the couple to leave early, saying Rob had “grown used to” his son’s behavior over the years.
In the aftermath, sources said O’Brien has been deeply affected by learning what happened after the party.
One insider stressed that blame lies solely with the accused killer, saying, “Only the murderer is responsible.” Still, the source added, “But it must be gut-wrenching for Conan to learn that this is how things turned out. I’m sure that night is replaying for him over and over. It’s just so awful and sad.”
Originally published on Enstarz
