John Oliver has become more than just a comedian - he's a catalyst for change. From saving the last Blockbuster to naming sewage plants and fighting for net neutrality, we'll explore how his comedic investigations have made real-world impacts across various social and political landscapes.
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00:00The organization that sounds the most like the name of a purse dog.
00:05It's not Fifi, it's Fifa.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:10And for our main story today,
00:11we'll be looking at the most significant real-world ripples
00:14made by the sharp and comedic investigations
00:17of last week tonight with John Oliver.
00:19The guy who used to run the cable industry's lobbying arm
00:23is now running the agency tasked with regulating it.
00:26That is the equivalent of needing a babysitter
00:29and hiring a dingo.
00:32Keeping the last Blockbuster open.
00:34There are apparently four independently-owned franchises
00:38still operating in the United States,
00:40three of which are in Alaska,
00:41which actually makes a little bit of sense
00:43because internet coverage is sparse up there
00:45and without unlimited data, streaming has been expensive.
00:48And to listen to an employee at one of those stores,
00:50their very presence is almost magical.
00:52Since Blockbuster declared bankruptcy in 2010,
00:55its many stores have steadily disappeared.
00:58By April 2018, only three remained in the U.S.,
01:01two in Alaska and one in Bend, Oregon.
01:04To save the one in Anchorage, Alaska, from closing,
01:07John Oliver launched an unusual effort to draw customers.
01:10His show spent $7,000 to purchase underwear
01:14Russell Crowe wore in Cinderella Man
01:17and donated it to the store,
01:18aiming to double it as a museum for the actor.
01:21You may remember that we told you about
01:22Russell Crowe, The Art of Divorce,
01:24an auction in which to celebrate the end of his marriage,
01:27he was selling artifacts from his career,
01:29from the gladiator chariot to this leather jockstrap
01:33he wore in the film Cinderella Man,
01:35which was expected to attract an absolutely ridiculous $500.
01:39This strategy worked for a while.
01:41The Anchorage Blockbuster remained open until July 2018,
01:45when it also closed its doors.
01:47The famous underwear was then sent
01:49to the last remaining Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon,
01:52where it continues to attract enough visitors
01:54to keep the lights on.
01:56Having a sewage plant named after him.
01:58In Connecticut, it emerged that their jury selection
02:00computer program had accidentally read the D in Hartford
02:03to mean deceased, so for nearly three years,
02:06it never summoned anyone from Hartford,
02:08or indeed, New Britain,
02:09the second largest city in that district.
02:11John Oliver is famous for his humorous tangents.
02:14In August 2020, while discussing the flaws
02:17in Connecticut's jury selection system
02:19that excluded residents from minority neighborhoods,
02:22Oliver suddenly directed his vitriol
02:24at the town of Danbury.
02:26In response, Danbury's mayor, Mark Boughton,
02:29joked about renaming their sewage plant after Oliver,
02:32as both were, quote, full of crap.
02:34I know exactly three things about Danbury.
02:36USA Today ranked it the second best city to live in in 2015,
02:40it was once the center of the American hat industry,
02:42and if you're from there, you got a standing invite
02:45to come get a thrashing from John Oliver,
02:47children included.
02:48But nothing is ever just a joke with John Oliver.
02:50He took Boughton up on it,
02:52offering to donate $55,000 to local Connecticut charities
02:56if the plant was officially renamed.
02:59The town followed through, and in October,
03:01Oliver attended the opening ceremony
03:03of the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant.
03:06This stunt also inspired local organizations
03:08to raise nearly $100,000
03:10for Danbury's United Way food pantry,
03:13raising money for the United States Postal Service.
03:16Despite being part of the federal government,
03:18the Postal Service is actually a self-funded entity.
03:21It operates independently and is meant to pay for itself
03:24with the money that it makes from services and postage.
03:27That might help explain why over the years,
03:29it's often tried to encourage stamp collecting.
03:32The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted countless industries,
03:35and the United States Postal Service was chief among them.
03:38In May 2020, John Oliver highlighted all the issues
03:42the USPS was facing,
03:43many of which existed long before the pandemic
03:46and aimed to secure critical funding for the agency.
03:49The Postal Service's problems aren't entirely
03:52from the fact that we started using email
03:54or even the 2008 recession.
03:56In fact, it's been estimated that the stipulations
03:58of this one law have accounted for approximately 74 percent
04:03of their net losses since it passed.
04:05Partnering with stamps.com,
04:07Oliver launched a line of last week tonight branded stamps,
04:10featuring fun favorite mascots from the show.
04:13Viewers could purchase a sheet of stamps for $14,
04:16with $11 going directly to the USPS.
04:19By July, the initiative had raked in
04:21over $4 million for the USPS,
04:24along with an additional donation of $450,000
04:28for a fund supporting postal workers
04:30affected by natural disasters.
04:32You can actually get stamps made.
04:34TV shows have done this in the past.
04:36American Idol sold stamps,
04:38and Veep and Full Frontal recently did giveaways.
04:40And while it will not come close to raising the $90 billion
04:44the Postal Service badly needs,
04:46we've actually been working with stamps.com for weeks
04:49to not just do a giveaway,
04:51but to produce a run of stamps that are available
04:54for you to buy right now.
04:56Boosting donations to the Society of Women Engineers.
04:59But it does seem that two things are true.
05:02One, Miss America gives out way less
05:04than $45 million in scholarships.
05:07And yet two, whatever the number is,
05:09one thing does still seem to be troublingly true.
05:13The Miss America organization is actually
05:15the largest provider of scholarships to women in the world.
05:18John Oliver proves that taking down a controversial organization
05:22can also be the perfect opportunity to elevate
05:24a more well-meaning, albeit lesser-recognized one.
05:28In the first season of his show,
05:29Oliver took on the Miss America beauty pageant
05:32and their status as the world's largest provider
05:34in scholarships for women.
05:36He then spotlighted three lesser-known organizations
05:39offering female-only scholarships,
05:41including the Society of Women Engineers.
05:44Because even their lowest number
05:45is more than any other women-only scholarship
05:48that we could find.
05:49More than the Society of Women Engineers,
05:51whose website is here.
05:52More than the Patsy Mink Foundation, here.
05:55And more than the Jeanette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund, here.
05:58Oliver encouraged viewers to donate to these groups instead,
06:02emphasizing the greater impact they posed.
06:04This little shout-out had a large ripple effect.
06:07In just two days after the episode aired,
06:09the Society of Women Engineers received
06:11$25,000 in donations,
06:14about 15% of its expected annual total.
06:17All of which you can donate to
06:20if you want to change the fact that currently
06:22the biggest scholarship program
06:24exclusively for women in America
06:26requires you to be unmarried
06:28with a mint-conditioned uterus
06:31and also rewards working knowledge
06:32of buttock adhesive technology.
06:35Which is just a little bit unsettling.
06:38Winning free speech protections for contract chicken farmers.
06:42Multiple studies have shown that many growers
06:44whose sole source of income was chicken farming
06:46live below or near the poverty line.
06:48Which sounds insane.
06:50How can the people who make the meat we eat the most
06:53barely be making a living?
06:55We eat chicken when it's been popcorned,
06:57when it's been fingered,
06:59and when it's in Disney's mouse-shaped nuggets.
07:03Last week tonight's segments are known for leaving you
07:05both informed and a little uncomfortable.
07:08One such segment from May 2015
07:10left people concerned about the conditions
07:12under which meat is sourced.
07:14It revolved around poultry farming,
07:16shedding light on how contract chicken farmers
07:18allegedly face retaliation from large poultry processors
07:21when they speak out about unfair treatment.
07:24You own the property and the equipment,
07:26we own the chickens.
07:27That essentially means you own everything that costs money
07:31and we own everything that makes money.
07:33Because typically farmers go into a great deal of debt
07:36just to build chicken houses and go into the business.
07:38And the moment you sign that contract,
07:41the chicken companies have a lot of leverage over you.
07:43This issue had been raised repeatedly in Congress
07:46with hopes of passing reforms to protect farmers.
07:49But the poultry industry always managed to lobby lawmakers
07:52in their favor.
07:53However, after the last week tonight episode aired,
07:56it generated enough attention that ultimately led
07:58to the passage of an agriculture spending bill in Congress,
08:02which included free speech protections for the farmers.
08:05Chicken farmers can't even complain.
08:08Because one of the reasons that you've not heard about this story
08:11is that to hear farmers tell it,
08:12companies take a hard line with complainers.
08:16Every time that I've spoke out against the poultry companies
08:19and the wrongdoings, they retaliate by cutting my pay,
08:24cutting my chickens back,
08:25cutting the quality of my chickens that I get.
08:27Judge cites John Oliver in Guam tax refund suit.
08:31Yes, American citizens living in U.S. island territories
08:34do not get to vote for president.
08:36And that's the kind of unsettling fact
08:37that deep down you probably knew,
08:39but chose not to think about.
08:41Like the fact that the dog from Full House
08:43is definitely dead by now.
08:45That kind of thing.
08:46But more than... You're proving my point.
08:49This season two episode focused on the U.S. island territories,
08:53particularly how residents are denied full constitutional rights
08:56and the ability to vote in presidential elections.
08:59John Oliver traced the issue back to the so-called Insular Cases,
09:02which led to the Supreme Court's decision
09:04that denied the territories any meaningful representation.
09:07The segment resonated not only with regular viewers,
09:09but also with legal professionals.
09:11There is nothing not to love about Guam.
09:14It is a beautiful island
09:16in a strategically important location for the U.S. military.
09:18So much so, their bases currently occupy
09:21over a quarter of Guam's land.
09:23And yet, the residents of Guam
09:25have absolutely no say in general elections
09:28for their commander-in-chief.
09:29A few months later,
09:30Ninth Circuit Appeals Court Judge Marsha S. Berzon
09:33cited Oliver's video in a class action lawsuit
09:36filed by Guam residents
09:38against their government's tax refund program.
09:40In her ruling, Judge Berzon cited the ongoing criticism
09:44surrounding the Insular Cases
09:46since the Supreme Court first considered them.
09:48Guam holds a straw poll every presidential election
09:51and their registered voter turnout
09:53is actually higher than that of the rest of America.
09:56And to misquote the words of the great philosopher Lil Jon,
10:00turnout for what?
10:01Funding Doctors Without Borders with his fake church.
10:04Now, though you may not be aware of it,
10:06televangelism is still thriving in this country,
10:09and Robert Tilton is just a very small part of it.
10:12There are several large media networks
10:14devoted to televangelism,
10:15including Trinity, Inspiration Ministries, and Daystar.
10:19And the preachers that appear on them
10:20can have incredible lifestyles.
10:22In August 2015,
10:24Last Week Tonight tackled televangelists
10:26and their controversial practice
10:27of soliciting donations from viewers
10:30often for personal gain.
10:31To highlight this absurdity
10:33and the fact that these donations are tax-exempt,
10:35Oliver established his own parody church,
10:38Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption.
10:40We filed paperwork last week
10:42establishing a church called Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption.
10:45And it was disturbingly easy.
10:49To make sure we did this correctly,
10:51we had this actual tax lawyer walk us through the process.
10:54Now, while the IRS does not have a definition of a church,
10:58they do have a 14-point test as a guideline for churches.
11:02Mirroring the tactics of the preachers,
11:04Oliver asked viewers to send in donations
11:07in return for blessings.
11:08In its brief, nearly month-long existence,
11:11the church reportedly received thousands of dollars
11:14and also a few unsavory items.
11:16The stunt was a demonstration of how disturbingly easy it is
11:19to create such a setup
11:20and coax people into handing over their cash.
11:23Unlike the televangelists, though,
11:24Oliver didn't pocket the proceeds.
11:27He donated them to Doctors Without Borders.
11:29Praise be to all of you watching us tonight
11:31or joining us online at www.ourladyofperpetualexemption.com.
11:36But most of all, praise be to the IRS,
11:39that most permissive of government agencies.
11:42Wanda Jo, I have heard the word of prophecy.
11:45Hallelujah! What did it say, my John?
11:47I'll tell you. I'll tell you, my Wanda.
11:49Children's book proceeds donated to pro-LGBTQ charities.
11:54Pence is constitutionally the only official
11:57in the White House that Trump can't fire.
11:58And that is worrisome, because he is synonymous
12:01with some extreme positions,
12:02like his opposition to abortion and gay rights.
12:05Donald Trump was a frequent target on Last Week Tonight,
12:08but in March 2018,
12:10John Oliver shifted his focus to his vice president, Mike Pence.
12:14Oliver called out Pence for his anti-LGBTQ views,
12:18including his support for conversion therapy.
12:20Around that time, Pence and his family
12:23planned to release a children's book
12:24about their pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo.
12:27Congratulations, Pence.
12:28You even managed to ruin Marlon Bundo.
12:31Now, none of us can enjoy a book about your rabbit.
12:35Or can we?
12:37Because it turns out, in a complete coincidence,
12:40we also wrote a book about Mike Pence's rabbit.
12:44Oliver and his team hopped in first,
12:46dropping their own book,
12:48A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo,
12:50which portrayed Marlon as a gay rabbit,
12:52a clear jab at Pence's views.
12:54It became an Amazon bestseller,
12:56moving over 180,000 copies in the first two days.
13:00To top it off, Oliver donated all proceeds
13:03to pro-LGBTQ charities,
13:05like The Trevor Project and AIDS United.
13:08And if you want to know how the story turns out,
13:10you are going to have to buy the book.
13:11Please, buy it for your children,
13:13buy it for any child you know,
13:15or just buy it because you know it would annoy Mike Pence.
13:18You'd be doing a nice thing in a really dickish way.
13:22And isn't that the dream at the end of the day?
13:25John Oliver rips into FIFA.
13:27FIFA is a comically grotesque organization.
13:30In fact, telling someone about the inner workings of FIFA
13:33for the first time is a bit like showing someone
13:35two girls, one cup.
13:37You do it mainly so you can watch
13:39the horrified expression on people's faces.
13:42John Oliver made FIFA a recurring punching bag on his show,
13:46and for good reason.
13:47His attacks began in the first season,
13:49when he condemned FIFA's poor handling
13:51of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
13:53He also criticized their plans
13:55to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
13:58amid allegations of bribery and human rights violations.
14:02In 2015, Oliver doubled down
14:04after a massive corruption scandal
14:06led to the arrests of several FIFA officials.
14:09I don't know what I'm more surprised by,
14:10that FIFA officials were actually arrested,
14:12or that America was behind it.
14:15It took the country that cares the least about football
14:18to bring down the people who have been ruining it.
14:21That's like finding out that Kesha
14:23arrested a group of bankers involved in commodities fraud.
14:26This time, he called for FIFA president
14:29Sepp Blatter's resignation.
14:30And just days later, Blatter, facing increasing pressure,
14:34decided to step down.
14:35This episode led to a brief exchange
14:37between Oliver and Jack Warner,
14:39a former FIFA VP and Trinidadian politician
14:43who was fighting extradition to face the corruption charges.
14:46Comedian fool?
14:48That's not an insult, that's literally my business card.
14:52I've got to say, if you really want to insult me,
14:55you've got plenty to work with here.
14:57Why not say I look like the reflection of Harry Potter
15:00in a doorknob?
15:01Come on, I'm doing your job for you.
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15:20Crashing the FCC over net neutrality.
15:23The only two words that promise more boredom
15:26in the English language are featuring sting.
15:29And hearing people talk about it is somehow even worse.
15:38One of the earliest Last Week Tonight segments to go viral
15:41was from 2014 when John Oliver took on
15:44the Federal Communications Commission
15:45over proposed rules that would threaten net neutrality.
15:48Oliver accused the FCC and its then chairman, Tom Wheeler,
15:52of enabling internet service providers
15:54to create fast lanes for companies that could pay,
15:57leaving smaller businesses and regular users
16:00with slower speeds.
16:01What's being proposed is so egregious,
16:04activists and corporations have been forced
16:06onto the same side.
16:08That's basically Lex Luthor
16:10knocking on Superman's apartment door and going,
16:12listen, I know we have our differences,
16:14but we have got to get rid of that arsehole
16:16in apartment 3B.
16:18During the segment, Oliver implored viewers
16:20to direct their rage at the FCC over the proposed changes.
16:24This led to an avalanche of comments
16:26that overwhelmed and crashed the agency's servers.
16:29This unprecedented wave of public pressure
16:31ultimately influenced the FCC's decision
16:34to adopt net neutrality regulations in February 2015.
16:38For once in your life,
16:40we need you to channel that anger,
16:42that badly spelled bile
16:44that you normally reserve for unforgivable attacks
16:47on actresses you seem to think have put on weight,
16:51or politicians that you disagree with,
16:53or photos of your ex-girlfriend getting on with her life.
16:56What is your favorite corporate takedown by John Oliver?
16:59Explain it to us in the comments below.
17:02And now this.
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