How 'Conan' writer turned her mother's tragic death from COVID-19 into comedy

Comedian Laurie Kilmartin appeared on Wednesday’s Conan. She is a staff writer on the show, and recently made headlines when she documented on Twitter the death of her mother, JoAnn Kilmartin, from the coronavirus.

Kilmartin’s mother contracted the virus while temporarily visiting a nursing home for physical rehabilitation. Due to quarantine restrictions, Kilmartin was unable to physically be with her mother. As a way of coping with the stress, she started tweeting jokes about the situation.

“Like every comic, you don't like to sit in a feeling too long,” said Kilmartin. “You want to pull yourself out of it and the best way to do that is write a little joke about it.”

Her mother’s death was also a cautionary tale for families divided by politics, as her mom was a supporter of Donald Trump, whom Laurie opposes.

“I regret that I let it get in my head so much because I think it affected the last year or two that I had with her because I was so enraged,” said Kilmartin. “I would blame her for policies that she didn't know about.”

Since Kilmartin finds comfort in dark comedy, host Conan O’Brien shared his condolences in a most fitting way. “You have a lot of people around you that love you and we care about you,” said O’Brien, adding, “And you’re fired.” Kilmartin responded with uproarious laughter.

Conan airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on TBS.

See why ‘Conan’ ended quarantine:

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