Conan's Emmy gag order (THRE)

By Nancy Tartaglione

The Hollywood Reporter Esquire blog has a memo for Conan O'Brien: "Watch your mouth at the Emmys." Should the erstwhile "Tonight Show" host win on Sunday, he is legally prohibited from saying whatever he wants about his former bosses during an acceptance speech. Indeed, a win could set up some interesting drama at the event.

The limitations end Sept 1, but the Emmys, which air on NBC, are three days shy of that date. The event marks one of the first times that O'Brien and his former bosses will be together in the same room.

THRE says its learned that O'Brien's settlement deal defines prohibited disparaging comments as those that are "false" and would be viewed by a reasonable person to be "insulting or defamatory."

The key word is "false," says THRE, adding "O'Brien can poke fun at his former bosses or even take a shot at Leno as long as his remarks are not both inaccurate and scornful."

"He can still have a field day," attorney Pierce O'Donnell, who was not involved in the O'Brien deal, told THRE. "He can make fun of NBC's ratings, its shows, as long as he's not saying anything false."

O'Donnell said that the specific end date and the "false" requirement are somewhat unusual for high-profile settlements and probably reflect leverage O'Brien had in negotiations.

Still, THRE sources in the Conan camp said he has no plans to say anything negative about NBC or anyone else at the Emmys on Sunday.