Conan O'Brien faced the fallout from his recent give Toronto a boost programs, by "apologizing" Conan style to the people of Quebec. On the first show back after his Toronto junket, O'Brien set the record straight. Using a French translator, O'Brien issued his mea culpa which featured much self deprecation. The translator's version of Conan's comments, appeared in English in subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
O'Brien got into hot water last week, when Triumph the Insult dog, insulted a wide variety of Quebecois. Taking to the streets of Quebec City, Triumph became the most politically incorrect puppet to ever wander the Grande Alle. Nothing was sacred to the caustic canine, who expressed great delight in mocking any Quebecois who stumbled into his path.
The resulting firestorm, threatened to take away Don Cherry's status as public enemy number one in brasseries around the province. Interestingly enough, the most vociferous critic of the Triumph skit, was not from Quebec. Nova Scotia MP, Alexa McDonough was seemingly the most offended, calling the project "racist filth" and "utterly vile". She went on to demand that the government seek to recover the million dollar subsidy, used to bring O'Brien to Toronto for the week. God help the sheltered Alexa, should she ever happen to tune in to some of the programs offered up on TVA and SRC, some of which don't treat their fellow Quebecois with much respect.
For O'Brien the "apology" was brilliant way of making hay out of a controversy that was limited to a small viewer base north of the border. By reviewing the events of the controversy, O'Brien has gone on to garner even more publicity for his show in the US, and highlighted the ultra-sensitive nature of Canadian cultural relations.
As that old show biz adage goes: "all publicity is good, as long as they spell my name right"
It's a safe bet, everyone in Canada, including Quebec can now spell CONAN.
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