On Wednesday, CBS This Morning hosted HBO’s John Oliver for an extensive promotional interview that featured the three hosts heaping praise on the “amazing” liberal comedian.
In an interview that totaled more than 13 minutes across two segments, co-host Charlie Rose fawned over Oliver and proclaimed “I have romance for you” which Oliver took as an opportunity to awkwardly praise the CBS host’s “intoxicating” smell later in the broadcast.
The interview began with Rose touting how Oliver was a “fearless host” who “tackles serious issues” with a “reputation for scathing wit” before he played a lengthy montage of clips from Oliver’s Last Week Tonight program.
The three CBS hosts then spent several minutes discussing Oliver’s recent interview with Edward Snowden before they turned to the upcoming retirement of Oliver’s “mentor” Jon Stewart. The HBO comedian beamed that Stewart is “the greatest who has ever done this...he’s incredible...I owe him everything. I would not be in this country, let alone sitting here, if it wasn’t for him. He taught me every important lesson that I use.”
After the four discussed the challenges Oliver faces with his HBO show, the CBS hosts begged their guest to stick around for a second segment with Norah O’Donnell proclaiming “somebody get the handcuffs” and Gayle King insisted that Oliver “has no choice” but to stay.
The second segment featured much of the same and Norah O’Donnell eagerly wondered what was Oliver’s “obsession with Charlie [Rose].” The HBO host proclaimed that “what I love about Charlie is apart from the smell which as we all know is intoxicating. What I love is–say it Charlie. Say it. You smell good. It’s a compliment.”
Rose seemed embarrassed by Oliver’s awkward compliment and insisted that “I do not smell good. I do not have a smell” before he allowed Oliver to provide an over-the-top endorsement of the liberal CBS anchor:
[Y]ou light up every room that you're in. I'm happy to see you. Whenever I’m in a room, whenever I’ve seen you it’s usually in a room that I'm not very comfortable in it and when you come in, I'm more comfortable in it Charlie because you make me laugh. You're a perfect clown In that great clowns don't know when they're being funny. And that's what you are.
The interview turned serious towards the end when O’Donnell brought up the recent riots in Baltimore to which Oliver seemed unwilling to condemn the recent violence. Instead, the HBO host seemed to do his best to justify their anger:
The Ferguson thing we took a week to look at and we tried to build in the ideas of police militarization into it as well so that you're not just picking at a local scab you’re trying to show how this is a systemic problem. And the same is true in Baltimore. You know, that anger did not come out of nowhere. That has been, you know, some anger and justified resentment that's been going on for a long time. So it's very easy to demonize and it's also not accurate to demonize those—
Rather than question Oliver over his refusal to reject such violence, the CBS hosts quickly moved on to discuss Stephen Colbert, the soon-to-be debut as host of the Late Show on CBS. Oliver cheered the “phenomenal move” by CBS and although Oliver lamented that the network will be “losing a legend in David Letterman” with Colbert “it’s no gamble. That is as funny and as smart a man as you’ll ever meet.” Norah O'Donnell concluded the puff interview much as it began as she beamed that Oliver was "amazing" and Charlie Rose eagerly chimed in that "you smell good though."
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
April 29, 2015
CHARLIE ROSE: HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver takes a satirical look at the news. Its fearless host tackles serious issues. One year in, the program enjoys a reputation for scathing wit.
[Lengthy montage of clips from his show]
ROSE: John Oliver, welcome back.
JOHN OLIVER: That's a very silly combination of clips. It’s a very dumb show.
GAYLE KING: Doing very well.
ROSE: So what is the intent of this dumb show?
OLIVER: Just to make people laugh. That's it. At the end the week we try to find things we're interested in and make people laugh and if that involves puppets or a salmon cannon, then more the better.
ROSE: Is this the most fun you've had in your life, in your comedic life?
OLIVER: Yeah, but I’ve not had a lot of fun in my life, Charlie. I’m from Britain. I was raised as a pickpocket, chimneysweep.
ROSE: Norah wants to know why you didn't shave this morning.
OLIVER: No, Norah doesn't want to know that. I heard you Charlie. You want to know that.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Thank you.
OLIVER: You’re like my mom. Honestly I forgot, I forgot, because I'm going to normal work. I guess if I respected this workplace more, I would have shaved. But it seems like I’m sending a message.
KING: But John, how are you able to find such comedy in such serious issues? In some of the bites you pick the news looks so silly, but you have a way of really putting it all in perspective.
OLIVER: Well, it's not just me. I'm the unfortunate face of a lot of people's work. Yeah, we have an amazing staff of writers and producers. Tim Carvel and Liz Stanton who I run the show with. So, yeah, I just get the credit for lots of people work.
--
ROSE: So, what is it about the Daily Show that has produced so many people now that have their own shows?
KING: Yeah.
ROSE: You and Larry and Steve.
OLIVER: Jon Stewart. It’s a pretty easy answer. Jon Stewart is the greatest who has ever done this. Look, as a comedian I’m allergic to sincerity.
ROSE: But why is it on a serious note? What is it about Jon?
OLIVER: He's the best. He’s the best—
ROSE: Best at what he does or the best at nurturing talent?
OLIVER: Yeah. He's incredible. He’s an incredible comedian. He’s an incredible writer. He’s an incredible man manager. I owe him everything. I would not be in this country, let alone sitting here, if it wasn't for him. He taught me every important lesson that I use.
ROSE: I asked someone the other night from HBO by the way, Richard Plepler, why not John, you, five nights a week?
OLIVER: Because I don't know if the world wants that, Charlie. I think I’m better in small doses. As we’re going to find out this morning.
KING: Do you want that?
ROSE: One night a week.
KING: Do you want it? Would you like it, a daily show?
OLIVER: You couldn't do what we do on Sunday five times across the week. We couldn't physically do that to our staff. It would decimate them.
KING: Are you lazy people?
OLIVER: We are innately lazy.
ROSE: But they do it on "The Daily Show," don't they that.
OLIVER: They do, they do. It's a little different what we do with the same kind of tools. It's a little different. It's some slow cooking what we do.
O’DONNELL: Will you stay with us?
OLIVER: No. Yes I will, yes.
KING: You have no choice, John Oliver.
O’DONNELL: Somebody get the handcuffs.
KING: We have you slotted next.
O’DONNELL: Somebody get the handcuffs.
OLIVER: I’ll be here.
KING: Klaus. Klaus is a big boy.
O’DONNELL: Okay. We'll have more.
ROSE: Big muscles.
KING: Just saying.
O’DONNELL: We'll have more with John Oliver. We’re going to talk about Trevor Noah. More on Colbert and the 2016 presidential race.
--O’DONNELL: What is your obsession with Charlie?
OLIVER: What I love about Charlie is apart from the smell which as we all know is intoxicating. What I love is -- say it, Charlie. Say it. You smell good. It's a compliment.
ROSE: I do not smell good. I do not have a smell.
OLIVER: Oh Charlie, that’s like me saying I don’t have an accent.
ROSE: I would love to know why you love me.
OLIVER: Because, Charlie, you light up every room that you're in. I'm happy to see you. Whenever I’m in a room, whenever I’ve seen you it’s usually in a room that I'm not very comfortable in it and when you come in, I'm more comfortable in it Charlie because you make me laugh. You're a perfect clown In that great clowns don't know when they're being funny. And that's what you are.
KING: Is that a compliment? A perfect clown?
OLIVER: I think so. I love it.
KING: That's a first. That's a first.
OLIVER: I’ve never not enjoyed time with Charlie.
O’DONNELL: You know, that’s so funny. We had an author on earlier this week about happy marriages and she said the most important thing in a happy marriage is being comfortable with someone.
OLIVER: I've been comfortable with Charlie since I met him and I'm not comfortable around myself.
ROSE: That’s true. We hit it off the first moment.
--
O’DONNELL: Let's talk about what’s going on in Baltimore. As you know this morning we had the Baltimore mom, and many people were calling the mom of the year, on our show. To watch that footage, she was giving her son –
OLIVER: The business.
O’DONNELL: The business, exactly. What do you think? You've talked about Ferguson in the past and some of the riots that we’ve had going on.
OLIVER: Yeah, I have. Sorry, what’s the, yeah.
O’DONNELL: When she came here and talked about it, how do you make humor of a situation like that?
OLIVER: Well, it's complicated. So, you know, it takes time. Which is why it's not easy to do it just on cue in a scenario like this. The Ferguson thing we took a week to look at and we tried to build in the ideas of police militarization into it as well so that you're not just picking at a local scab you’re trying to show how this is a systemic problem. And the same is true in Baltimore. You know, that anger did not come out of nowhere. That has been, you know, some anger and justified resentment that's been going on for a long time. So it's very easy to demonize and it's also not accurate to demonize those—
KING: Can we leave you with this? Stephen Colbert is coming up for us on CBS. Is that a good move for CBS? You know him.
OLIVER: It's a phenomenal move. There’s barely a better move. You're losing a legend in David Letterman, but you could not be in—you know, it’s always a gamble appointing anyone new and with him it’s no gamble. That is as funny and as smart a man as you’ll ever meet.
ROSE: And he’ll be himself. Not the character.
OLIVER: And he will objectively be amazing.
O’DONNELL Well, you’re amazing. Thank you.
OLIVER: No, I'm not. I’m not. Don't say that. No, no.
ROSE: You smell good though.
KING: What are you buying the royal baby?
ROSE: I smell good.
OLIVER: I smell great.
KING: What are you buying the royal baby?
OLIVER: I don't care. I don't care.
O’DONNELL: Alright, Last Week Tonight airs Sunday’s on HBO.
