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.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
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.”
