With the Olympics being the weekend’s big story, John Oliver was a lock to poke some fun at it on Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight.” The HBO host had plenty of jokes about Friday’s opening ceremony, particularly NBC’s widely panned coverage of the event.
But while most observers were complaining about NBC’s incessant commercials and the “Today” crew’s dopey commentary during Brazil’s musical showcase, Oliver pointed out a strange trend in Matt Lauer’s factoids during the Parade of Nations. Instead of discussing top athletes from each country, much of the commentary was focused on the political crises in each participant’s homeland, such as Turkey’s recent attempted military coup and the earthquake that killed over 8,000 people in Nepal.
“It is a good thing the anchors don’t behave like that during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” joked Oliver. “There goes Shrek, obviously jaundiced and beset by weight problems stemming from chronic diabetes. Here’s Charlie Brown, clearly losing his fight with leukemia. And finally, there is Snoopy, who of course is going to be put down later today.”
Of course, Oliver also took a chance to note the awkward absence of Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, whose powers of office have been suspended by the nation’s Senate and who now faces possible impeachment for breaking spending laws. Taking Rousseff’s place at the ceremony was acting President Michel Temer, whose declaration of the opening to the Olympic Games was met with loud jeers despite the organizers’ attempt to drown them out with fireworks.
“Those boos actually make sense for a couple of reasons,” explained Oliver. “First, he is unelected and is planning to push through a number of austerity measures, and second, he is a poet who once released a book of poetry titled Anonymous Intimacy, featuring this actual poem: “My body/ On fire/ Consumed/ Dissolved/ Finally/ Ashes are left/ That I spread on the bed/ To sleep.”
Then, Oliver found a way to make a Donald Trump joke out of the event by comparing the 75-year-old Temer’s marriage to a 33-year-old woman to the GOP nominee’s infamous moment with his daughter Ivanka at the RNC.
“I’ll say this,” Oliver said: “At least when 70-something American politicians get creepily handsy with 30-something women, they have the decency to do so with their own daughters. Have some class, Brazil. Have. Some. Class.”
Watch the video above.