Conan O'Brien says some of his friends thought “Hot Ones” killed him

The comedian went viral for his unhinged appearance on the spicy interview show, and left some fearing for his health.

Anyone who watched Conan O'Brien's inspired, hot-sauce-chugging appearance on Hot Ones came away with two questions: "Why isn't this man on TV every week?" and "What did all that capsaicin do to his digestive system?"

The 61-year-old comedian answered the latter on the most recent episode of his Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast. Speaking with his cohosts, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, O'Brien joked about putting his gastrointestinal distress to good use.

"I found a construction site where they were doing spot welding, and I went there. And I said, 'Gentlemen, if you want, I can weld these girders for you in, I'm guessing, about 15 minutes. You'll need to avert your eyes because I'll be dropping my pants,'" he quipped. "So there's a building in the Mid-Wilshire district that's going up, and I think I did about 65 rivets in the building. People were driving by saying, 'Conan O'Brien's pants are around his ankles, and I think fire is shooting out of his ass, and he's welding a building.'"

Eventually, O'Brien shared the real effects on his body, including "incredibly runny" eyes and a very sore mouth. Because his commitment to the bit included dousing himself with hot sauce and rubbing it on his face and chest, the comedian also experienced some serious skin discomfort.

"You wash your hands right afterwards, but some of the sauce got underneath my wedding ring," he said. "I noticed that my wedding ring was burning… I took it off and I was like, 'Oh right, there's acid underneath it.'"

O'Brien's viral Hot Ones appearance prompted a surge of online love from his fans, who began posting their favorite bits from Late Night and Conan on social media afterward. While he thought the sentiment was "very sweet," O'Brien said some of his friends got the wrong idea when they saw his name trending. "I had a bunch of friends who saw my name all over Twitter and the first assumption is, 'He's dead,'" he told Movsesian and Gourley. "I did have people say, 'Oh my God, I thought, 'Finally!'"

Listen to the full episode of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend above, and watch his episode of Hot Ones below.

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