Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bob Katter, an Aretha Franklin tribute, and more

Before we dive into anything else when it comes to Sunday’s edition of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, can we start with the small Aretha Franklin tribute in the opening? While sometimes these are subtle, few shows do them better than Oliver’s. He makes sure that they are noticeable and meaningful, even if they don’t fill up much time in the broadcast.

From here, things got back to normal for Oliver as he pointed out some of his targets this week — and also showed that he and his team can do a pretty quick turnaround on things as they happen. Take, for example, his evisceration of Rudy Giuliani and his “truth is not truth” comments that he made on Meet the Press earlier today. While Rudy has been a frequent punching bag for Oliver the past few weeks, this one was especially effective since it was so recent and Giuliani’s comment so egregious.

The part of Oliver’s segment that is going to be new and/or educational to many people out there is his takedown of Australian politician Bob Katter, a man who has made a serious of offensive and homophobic remarks. While Oliver has mocked Australia before, much of it was good-natured. This time around, it was a specific takedown of a man who is resorting to the same terrible tactics that we have seen from some other characters over time.

There were some amusing moments in this segment for sure, but we think the Katter part of the opening is the most important insofar as information goes. It’s sad to say, but there are a good many Americans who are not getting world news anywhere other than Oliver’s show. It’s good that he presents it then, since otherwise there are many people out there who may not even know who Bob Katter even is.

What do you think when it comes to Last Week Tonight and the segment on Katter and more? Share below!

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