NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: ‘Last Week Tonight’ host John Oliver is facing considerable wrath online after blaming Hollywood studios for extending the 148-day-long writers’ strikes.
The 46-year-old comedian talked about the stoppage after blazing through some big news stories during the first 15 minutes of his show that made its return to the air after five months on Sunday, October 1, following the conclusion of the strikes.
“I’d have loved to have covered all of these stories back when they originally happened,” he remarked after summarizing everything from Lauren Boebert getting kicked out of a theatre to the coronation of King Charles.
"I wish so much I could have told you these jokes at the time, but I couldn’t because our writers, the people who wrote those jokes, were forced to strike for a fair contract for the last five months,” he continued, according to Hollywood Reporter.
“You’ve probably seen stories about writers and actors, whose work you may even recognize, routinely not making enough to qualify for health insurance or afford basic needs,” he added.
Why is John Oliver ‘furious’ at studios?
At one point on the show, Oliver praised the “sacrifices” of every individual who worked toward the WGA‘s new deal but he also had some harsh words for the studios.
“So the Writers' Guild went on strike and thankfully won, but it took a lot of sacrifices from a lot of people to achieve that," he noted.
"And while I’m happy that they eventually got a fair deal and immensely proud of what our union accomplished,” the host said, “I’m also furious that it took the studios 148 days to achieve a deal that they could have offered on day f**king one.”
“But hopefully, this might encourage others, from auto workers to Starbucks baristas to healthcare providers, whether they are in unions or would like to be, to find power in each other. And within our particular industry,” Oliver further noted.
Oliver then voiced his hope that IATSE and SAG-AFTRA will be able to "take what the writers achieved and leverage it to win fair contracts for themselves too."
“Because the truth is, it takes many people working really hard to make film and TV, all of whom deserve a piece of the pie and for the actors in particular, they cannot come back to work soon enough,” he added.
Internet mocks John Oliver's comments
Oliver’s remarks in his comeback episode garnered immense social media attention, with users blasting him for attacking the Hollywood studios.
“🤣 get a dartboard and zip it,” one user said while another wrote, “I remember it was funny for a while.”
“Good! If it p***es off this woke a**hole, we know it’s great for America💯😂✔️🇺🇸” a third user asserted on X.
“The propaganda machine must spin in time for the election,” one Reddit user fumed.
