John Oliver on Orlando – “This Just Hurts” (video)
- Funny
- Offensive
“I will happily embrace a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”
June 13, 2016 – With a weekly Sunday night slot, John Oliver was in natural position to be the first late-night comedian to tackle the weekend’s mass shooting in Orlando. Oliver made a cold open of his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” before the pre-taped portion aired:
“It’s still early and details are still emerging and right now this just hurts. And the worst thing is, this pain is so familiar. In Paris last November, terrorists seemed to target places that symbolize everything that is wonderful about France — culture, music, restaurants. And in Orlando early this morning a gunman attacked a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world. And for the record, I will happily embrace a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”
Understanding that  “It’s hard to even know what to do in the wake of an event like this,” he said.
The host ended his remarks with a statement of hope. “For right now, on a day when some dipshit terrorist wants us to focus on one man’s act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video,” he said, cutting to a Twitter clip showing hundreds of Floridians in line to donate blood. “It kind of reminds you that that terrorist dipshit is vastly outnumbered,” he said.
Knowing that any sort of segue would be tricky, the self-depricating Oliver closed his remarks with, “And now please enjoy our stupid show.”
Watch John Oliver’s thoughts on Orlando here courtesy of HBO: