Comedian and late-night host Conan O’Brien might or might not have cause to regret his decision.
We cannot know his motives, so we will not speculate. But it seems clear that a different decision from O’Brien might have produced a different result.
According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail+, multiple guests present at the comedian’s Dec. 13 Christmas party have come forward to report that an argument between 78-year-old Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his troubled son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, grew so heated that one guest suggested calling the police, only to have O’Brien refuse.
“They got in an argument, the father and son,” one source recalled. “It got so bad and loud someone wanted to call the police to report it.
“But Conan stepped in and said, ‘It’s my house, my party, I’m not calling the police.’ He talked them out of calling the police,” the source added.
Hours later, Nick allegedly slashed the throats of both his father, Rob, and mother, 70-year-old Michele Singer Reiner.
Could O’Brien have prevented the murders?
“When the s*** was hitting the fan,” a second source recalled, “somebody said we need to call the police. The conversation was about getting this kid put into a mental-health hold.”
That second source confirmed O’Brien’s refusal to notify authorities.
“Conan O’Brien stepped in and said, ‘No, I don’t want the police at my house,’ the source added. “It makes sense; who wants the cops showing up creating a scene? But the argument between Rob and Nick was pretty intense.”
Meanwhile, the first source speculated about how O’Brien must have taken the news of the Reiners’ eventual murder.
“Only the murderer is responsible,” the original source said. “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.”
On the whole, the guests’ recollections raise several questions.
First, why did Rob Reiner engage in a public argument with his mentally disturbed son? Even if you feel intense frustration, as the elder Reiner undoubtedly did, what good could a confrontation do? After all, yelling at someone with a mental illness seems like the definition of pointless.
Perhaps President Donald Trump wrote too much and too soon about his famous Hollywood antagonist’s tragic demise. Still, the president had it right when he noted that the legendary actor and director had anger issues.
Second, what explains O’Brien’s refusal to call police?
If the comedian acted out of deference to the Reiners — not wanting to embarrass them by involving law enforcement in a family dispute — then one could understand the motive.
If, however, O’Brien acted from mere pride — thinking primarily of himself, his house, and his party — then he has much on which to reflect with shame.
Finally, did liberalism play a role in the evening’s tragic events?
By all accounts, Nick Reiner had exhibited erratic behavior throughout the evening. But the elder Reiner — the one presumably not suffering from mental illness — also allowed the argument to grow into an unseemly public confrontation when he ought to have known better.
Thus, did O’Brien fail to act because liberals abhor accountability? Did he fail to act because liberals loathe the police? What evidence do we have that liberals would even recognize bad behavior if they saw it?
Of course, we cannot answer these questions. We can only pray that O’Brien, for his sake, had the right motives, and that the Reiners have finally found peace.
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