Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

John Oliver Brilliantly Tackled The Racism Of White Nationalists And Laura Ingraham On 'Last Week Tonight'

John Oliver Brilliantly Tackled The Racism Of White Nationalists And Laura Ingraham On 'Last Week Tonight'
HBO host John Oliver of "Last Week Tonight" on August 12, 2018 (Last Week Tonight/YouTube)

On point.

Sunday on his weekly HBO news recap show—Last Week Tonight—host John Oliver began the show with racists. Highlighting the greatest hits of the week in racism, Oliver covered everything from the poorly attended Unite the Right rally in Washington DC all the way to Laura Ingraham exposing herself on national television.

"We begin with racists," Oliver stated, then alluded to all the incidents caught on camera of people calling the police to complain about Black people barbecuing in parks, swimming in pools, mowing lawns and using coupons.


[Racists] are the reason 911 now has to answer calls with: ‘Is this a real emergency, or is there just a black person nearby?"

Oliver followed with news of the Unite the Right rally saying, "As we tape this show, right now tonight, the 'Unite the Right 2' rally is winding down."

A massive dozens of white nationalists apparently gathered in DC, where they were met by hundreds of counter-protesters calling them all assholes. And look, while that numerical discrepancy is heartening, let’s not get too reassured here."

Watch the full segment here:

"Because this week also brought a visceral reminder of the problems that we’re facing," Oliver continued before showing the results of a CNN poll. When asked if President Donald Trump is racist, 49 percent of United States voters think he is a racist while 47 percent do not.

But Oliver's complaint focused on the fact only 49 percent think Trump is a racist, not that the U.S. voters perceive their POTUS so poorly.

It is both shocking that it’s 49 percent and it’s equally shocking that it’s only 49 percent 'cause it's not like he's been hiding it. It's been his brand for decades now. It's like only 49 percent of people thinking Kermit is a frog."

John Oliver uses Kermit the Frog to make his point on "Last Week Tonight" on August 12, 2018. (YouTube screen grab)

It's in his name! Whether you like or hate that about him you have to admit he's a f#&%ing frog!"

John Oliver uses Kermit the Frog to drive home his point on "Last Week Tonight" on August 12, 2018. (YouTube screen grab)

The HBO host continued on to his next example.

"Today’s [Unite the Right] demonstration," Oliver said to introduce his remarks on Fox News host Laura Ingraham, "is just the culmination of a week in which America’s regular dog-whistle racism became uncomfortably loud." Oliver then showed a clip from Ingraham Angle.

Ingraham again drew public ire after she lamented the folly of illegal and legal immigration changing the demographics of America.

Oliver played a clip of Ingraham's actual comments then made the following remarks about them.

With the key words of her prepared speech on the screen below her, Ingraham says, "In some parts of the country, it seems like the America we know and love doesn't exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted upon the American people."

"Ingraham Angle" host Laura Ingraham laments demographic changes she did not vote for. (YouTube screen grab)

"And they're changes that none of us ever voted for and most of us don't like," Ingraham says before blaming immigration and progressives. The Fox News host failed to specify when in her America that she knew and loved people voted on the demographics of who could live in America.

Demographics: statistical data relating to the population where subsets of it are based on identifiable differences such as age, religion, race, ethnicity or gender 

"Wow!" Oliver said in a shocked tone.

She just came right out and said it, in the scripted commentary, straight down the camera, knowing her mic was on. No 'economic anxiety', no ‘some of them are good people’, just ‘I don’t want people who don’t look like [me] here'."

"You almost want to give her credit for honesty there," Oliver continued, "and then deduct twice as much credit because she's just being honest about how racist she is."

After earning high praise from White supremacists and resumed calls for boycotts of her sponsors for her demographic changes remarks, Ingraham tried to backpedal claiming her reference to "demographic changes" had nothing to do with changes in demographics.

But Oliver—like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke—knew the definition of demographics and exactly what Ingraham meant by immigrants leading to demographic changes. And he let her know why she should recognize how bad her comments were with the following comparison.

While Ingraham later tried to say her remarks had nothing to do with race, it is worth noting that no less an authority than David Duke, former grand wizard of the Klan, called it one of the most important truthful monologues in the history of the mainstream media."

"When the former head of the Klan likes what you’re doing," Oliver pointed out, "that should give you real pause."

Let me put it this way: if immediately after this taping, [convicted sexual predator] Dr Larry Nassar caught me in the hallway and said: ‘Hey man, loved your show,’ I’d think long and hard about what the f#&% I just said!"

John Oliver uses another comparison to illustrate his point. (YouTube screen grab)

More from People/donald-trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

RFK Jr. Gets Hilariously Brutal Reminder After Asking People What Their First Jobs Were

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was widely mocked after he published a post on X on Labor Day asking people to share what their first job was—a rather odd question from a man who faces regular criticism for being utterly unqualified for his role overseeing the nation’s public health apparatus.

Kennedy wrote the following on X:

Keep ReadingShow less
man singing on stage
Austin Neill on Unsplash

Jobs That People Romanticize Too Much Until They Actually Do Them

As children, most of us try on different future identities and occupations. As a 5-year-old, I thought being either a firefighter or a nun would be ideal.

My plans changed as I got older.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kristi Noem
CBS News

Kristi Noem Dragged After Making Wild Claim About How Trump Saved LA By Sending In Troops

Longtime MAGA acolyte Kristi Noem lied on Face the Nation in a desperate bid to justify Republican President Donald Trump's retaliatory act of sending the National Guard and active duty Marines to Los Angeles without cause.

Public perception has largely been against Trump's targeting of major cities in states governed by his political rivals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Actors from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Robert Patterson/Getty Images

Dominic Monaghan's Racy LOTR Throwback!

Middle-earth just got a little steamier. Dominic Monaghan—Peter Jackson’s forever-cheeky Merry Brandybuck—decided to bless Instagram with a throwback that looks like it was ripped straight from the hobbit-loving corners of LOTR fanfic.

The photo, taken during the 2001–2003 filming years, shows Monaghan shirtless and lounging in bed alongside Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin “Pippin” Took, and Orlando Bloom, who rose to fame as Legolas, in bed together.

Keep ReadingShow less
John Sampson at Hersheypark; Screenshot from @FearBuck's video
FOX43 News/YouTube; @FearBuck/Twitter (X)

Heroic Dad Who Helped Save Boy After He Wandered Onto Hersheypark Monorail Tracks Speaks Out

All parents know that it takes just a split second for a child to crawl into the next room or disappear into a crowd—or even to climb a towering monorail, apparently.

Fortunately for one young boy in Pennsylvania last weekend, fellow father John Sampson was thinking on his feet and ready to take action.

Keep ReadingShow less