'Conan' Writer Slams Late-Night Competition: "Shove Your Lip-Syncing Up Your Ass"

Andres du Bouchet criticized the other shows in a Twitter rant, which led to a harsh response from Conan O'Brien.

The late-night comedy wars appear to be heating up.

Andres du Bouchet, a writer for TBS' Conan, took to Twitter on Thursday to criticize the TV-comedy landscape in a series of scathing messages.

"Comedy in 2015 needs a severe motherf—ing shakeup. No celebrities, no parodies, no pranks, no mash-ups or hashtag wars," he wrote, before adding: "And shove your lip-syncing up your ass."

"Prom King Comedy," continued du Bouchet. "That's what I call all this shit. You've let the popular kids appropriate the very art form that helped you deal. F—."

In one tweet featuring a string of expletives, he asked how to block hashtag wars from his feed, a reference to a hallmark of shows like @midnight in which viewers are encouraged to tweet their suggestions in a specified comedic category. Du Bouchet's tweets all have since been deleted but still can be seen below.

A day later, du Bouchet tweeted that he was a "bonehead" for the rant, writing: "Now comes the inevitable dressing down at work for criticizing other talk shows!" He also pointed out that he was looking forward to seeing Stephen Colbert on CBS' upcoming Late Show.

Conan O'Brien himself did not appear to be pleased with the Twitter tirade. On Sunday, the host tweeted: "I wish one of my writers would focus on making my show funnier instead of tweeting stupid things about the state of late night comedy."

Du Bouchet did not name any other shows specifically, but The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is known for its lip-sync segment, with other shows also trying their hands at it, while Jimmy Kimmel Live! is famous for pranks. Parodies and celebritycentric bits have become late-night staples as well, notably with Fallon playing games with his guests or doing things like reuniting the Saved by the Bell cast.

The late-night genre currently is undergoing major upheaval, with the impending departures of David Letterman and Jon Stewart and the recent arrival of James Corden's Late Late Show. O'Brien was at the center of one of the nastier late-night flaps in recent years, as he left NBC's Tonight Show in 2010 after only eight months at the helm.

Du Bouchet's tweets can be seen below, followed by O'Brien's rebuke. (Warning: Tweets contain NSFW language.)

For the cocksucking motherfucking asspunching shit fuck cock cunt fuck FUCK ever fuck fucking love of humanity how can I block hashtag wars — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

You are all playing Boggle. pic.twitter.com/X4BZIfDPGq — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

Comedy in 2015 needs a severe motherfucking shakeup. No celebrities, no parodies, no pranks, no mash-ups or hashtag wars. I'm fat. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

@dubouchet and shove your lip-synching up your ass. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

Prom King Comedy. That's what I call all this shit. You've let the popular kids appropriate the very art form that helped you deal. Fuck. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

None of the funniest stuff ever involved celebrity cameos. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

That was satisfying. Sometimes just railing at the impenetrable nonsense of the retardverse is enough, despite my impotence to change it. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

Once again I'm a bonehead for tweeting as a fan of comedy instead of as a guy who earns a living doing it. — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

@guybranum thanks but now comes the inevitable dressing down at work for criticizing other talk shows! — Andrés du Bouchet (@dubouchet) April 17, 2015

I wish one of my writers would focus on making my show funnier instead of tweeting stupid things about the state of late night comedy. — Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) April 19, 2015

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