The idea of late night “comedy” has degenerated into John Oliver not liking pro-life successes, ranting into his empty, audience-free HBO void as “depressing” and “infuriating. The Last Week Tonight host on Sunday again dropped the jokes and raged that a Mississippi abortion law will now be heard by a newly conservative Supreme Court:
Yup! The thing conservatives have been trying to do for decades now is finally happening. Rolling back abortion rights is pretty much the reason the country had to watch a human beer bong scream and cry during a job interview [picture of Brett Kavanaugh], the reason everyone freaked out when an 87-year-old woman died, and the reason why the President and half his inner circle all got Covid in the Rose Garden. Wasn't that a fun couple of days?
All of that was building up to this depressingly significant moment. And states have been pushing the envelope hard when it comes to limiting abortion. With the latest attempt coming just this week in Texas.
After playing a clip announcing another pro-life law passing in Texas, Oliver turned into Democratic talking points and snarled, “Well, that's infuriating.” After playing clips of Andrew Giuliani running for governor in New York and one of the women behind the Texas abortion law in Texas, the Last Week Tonight host whined about the "terrifying" “clowns” who end up in power:
There she is standing behind governor Abbott this week as he signed Texas's abortion bill. The point is, yes, these people look like clowns. They are clowns. But it's important to remember that clowns, while funny, are also fucking terrifying. And this week gave us another reminder that, if you're not very careful, you can wind up with a clown car full of them making incredibly important decisions about your life.
A clown not mentioned? New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a man accused of sexual abuse by multiple women and the politician who let Covid-positive patients into nursing homes, killing thousands. But of course Oliver would ignore Cuomo. The Democratic hack host waited 33 episodes into the pandemic before mentioning the New York Governor.
As long as you’re a good liberal, you’re fine in Oliver’s mind. Because he’s not a comedian who speaks truth to power. He’s an unfunny Democratic hack. Sometimes, like last week, the host moves to international issues and touts anti-Israel bigotry.
If you want to let HBO know what you think of Oliver's Democratic DNC TV show, contact the network here.
A partial transcript is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Last Week Tonight
5/23/202111:03 PM ET
JOHN OLIVER: Look, it's been another busy week. Cher turned 75, the house voted to create an independent no commission to investigate the Capitol assault, and the Supreme Court did this:
NORAH O’DONNELL: The Supreme Court says it will take up the most direct challenge to roe vs. Wade in a generation this fall. No
JAN CRAWFORD: At issue, a Mississippi law that would ban almost all no abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It's similar to bans recently passed in other conservative leaning states, all designed to get the newly conservative supreme court to confront no roe vs. Wade head on.
OLIVER: Yup! The thing conservatives have been trying to do for decades now is finally happening. Rolling back abortion rights is pretty much the reason the country had to watch a human beer bong scream and cry during a job interview [picture of Brett Kavanaugh], the reason everyone freaked out when an 87-year-old woman died, and the reason why the President and half his inner circle all got Covid in the Rose Garden -- wasn't that a fun couple of days? All of that was building up to this depressingly significant moment. And states have been pushing the envelope hard when it comes to limiting abortion. With the latest attempt coming just this week in Texas.
ANTHONY MASON: Texas has just adopted one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the nation. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill yesterday. It bans the procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women even know they're pregnant.
OLIVER: Well, that's infuriating. And made somehow even worse by the fact they seemed to cram the few women in the room right behind Abbott and then let what can only be described as a Joseph A. Bank of men fill in everywhere else. You usually don't see that many men in suits lined up to disappoint women unless it's the first night of The Bachelorette. And for many behind that bill, including one of its sponsors, State Senator Charles Schwertner, restricting access to abortion has long been a priority. In 2017, he silenced a witness testifying against an earlier anti-abortion bill so hard, his gavel broke the glass tabletop of his desk.
...
OLIVER: A few things you can glean from that clip: That woman has a gun, a litigious husband, and no future in music whatsoever. And I have somehow aged 30 years since 2018. A truly uncomfortable watch for many reasons. But not long after that segment aired, Angela Paxton was elected to the Texas state senate. There she is standing behind governor Abbott this week as he signed Texas's abortion bill. The point is, yes, these people look like clowns. They are clowns. But it's important to remember that clowns, while funny, are also fucking terrifying. And this week gave us another reminder that, if you're not very careful, you can wind up with a clown car full of them making incredibly important decisions about your life.
