Conan's nutty confessor
A priest from Boston was arrested in New York City on Nov. 2 for stalking late-night talk show host Conan O
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
What happened
A priest from Boston was arrested in New York City on Nov. 2 for stalking late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien. Reverend David Ajemian allegedly sent O’Brien threatening messages over the last 14 months. “I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution—or a spot on your couch,” wrote Ajemian. Another note from the priest to O’Brien said, “Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fan?” The Archdiocese of Boston released a statement saying that Ajemian will no longer be involved in public ministry.
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This proves that truth is stranger than fiction, said Caroline Roberts in the blog Bostonist.com. “Pardon us for using the words ‘priest’ and ‘hell’ in the same post, but, seriously, what the hell?" How on earth does a priest “go from ministering to” people “to stalking a late-night TV host”? And why did the Archdiocese take its “sweet time”—almost a week—“to release the news”?
“What is it with Boston and all of the priests?” said the blog TVGasm.com. When the sexual abuse charges starting flying a few years ago, “Boston took the cake with churches and priests under scrutiny.” The priest stalking O’Brien is obviously a “psycho.” But then again, “Conan is rather handsome . . . one might even say, ‘Boyish good looks.’” OK, now I’m “going to hell” too.
Well, in one way this is a good thing for Conan, said the blog HollywoodGrind.com. Getting stalked is kind of a rite of passage for celebrities. Now that O'Brien “has his own stalker,” he is “now officially famous.” But Conan probably won’t hear from this guy for at least a little while—“the good father is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Squirrel kebabs on London menu
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 28 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: September 28, 2023
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published