John Oliver‘s “Last Week Tonight” won the Emmy for outstanding scripted variety series over “Saturday Night Live,” and the HBO host’s acceptance speech took a memorable turn when he started to get played off just as he was paying tribute to his family’s recently deceased dog.
“In particular, I want to thank the silly odd dog,” Oliver said. “We have the most fantastic dog, and she was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us for two pregnancies…”
Oliver then got cut off by the orchestral music, to which he responded: “Perfect choice of music.” He then continued: “We had to say goodbye to her. I feel like Sarah McLaughlin right now. She was an amazing dog.”
As the music continued to swell to encourage Oliver to get off the stage, he playfully shouted: “Fuck you! There you go.”
“This isn’t just for her. This is for all dogs,” he continued as the audience clapped. “All dogs, you are all very good girls. You are very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now! Thanks so much.”
Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” is currently in its 11th season on HBO. The series began its run in 2014 and has now won a total of 30 Emmys during its run. On the Emmys red carpet before his latest win, Oliver told Variety that he will not miss having to make Donald Trump jokes on the show should he lose the upcoming election against Kamala Harris.
“[If Trump doesn’t win] I don’t lose any material that I’m not happy to throw overboard,” he said. “The whole ‘he’s been a gift to comedy’ — it’s not a gift any of us really wanted and we’re happy to return it for store credit down the line.”
However, Oliver did warn that the election is “going to be very, very close. And if Trump loses he’s not going to accept it, making the fact that it’s going to be that close more ridiculous. … It’s going to be bumpy. It’s going to be close and historically he’s not handled loss well. If you’re not concerned, then you haven’t been watching. There’s plenty to be concerned about it.”
From Variety US