Top 10 Craziest Stunts from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

It’s a far understatement to say that Donald Trump’s antics have been the butt of a joke or two. However, in this case, John Oliver decided to take a jab at Donald’s actual name. Back when Trump was then just a candidate for the Republican nomination, Oliver did a piece on Trump’s campaign and noted that the family name was originally “Drumpf.” This led to a “Make Donald Drumpf Again” website, red “MAGA” style hats, and even a web browser extension that changed any web text containing Donald’s name to the “Drumpf” version. It was a simple and brilliant way to poke fun at someone who would become an easy target over the next few years.

It all started when “Last Week Tonight” ran a story about how the Japanese town of Susaki had disavowed a mascot known as Chiitan. Chiitan had been shown as a friend to their own city mascot, Shinjo-kun, but cut ties after receiving complaints about Chiitan’s unconventional YouTube videos. In response to Shinjo-kun’s loneliness, Oliver sent over his own mascot, dubbed Chiijohn. A story of friendship between the two mascots ensued and was shown in Oliver’s segment and in a follow-up bit later. Unlike some of the gags on this list, this one has the feels all over it. No one else would have ever thought to help a lonely mascot feel a little less by themselves.

The segment starts off with a discussion on how salmon swim upstream to spawn, but hydroelectric dams have made this harder. Enter: the salmon cannon. It’s a machine that literally shoots salmon over the dam. Oliver builds his own and starts dropping the salmon in but it was who they hit that made this memorable. David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Homer Simpson, and Tom Hanks were just some of the people who found themselves blasted by a salmon. Not only is the whole thing ridiculous to begin with, but how he managed to get so many popular people to agree to be hit in the face by a fish is an accomplishment hard to beat.

To celebrate his divorce from then-wife Danielle Spencer, actor Russell Crowe auctioned off a ton of memorabilia from films he had been in. One such item was a jockstrap used in the 2005 movie, “Cinderella Man.” Acquired by the show, along with others from the same auction, “Last Week Tonight” sent all of it to a lonely Alaskan Blockbuster Video store located in Anchorage. Of all things the show could have bought, snagging someone’s jockstrap, regardless of who it belonged to, has got to be one of the more obscure things the show has done. It’s a perfect example of Oliver’s unique comedy in action.

One of the trademarks of this show is its unrelenting willingness to poke the bear. When they uncover unflattering tidbits about a political leader, they aren’t afraid to put that on full display for their viewers. Such was the case with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the president of Turkmenistan. After discovering how obsessed he was with self-image, the show ran footage of him falling off a horse, multiple times. At the end of the show, they introduced a 600 square foot marble cake depicting the same accident. Not only is it funny, but it once again underlines how absurd the show is willing to go in order to make a point.

In August of 2015, John Oliver announced on his show that they had formed a new church by the name of “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption.” This came as part of a story on the predatory actions of televangelists, and how the churches they work for are tax-exempt. Created entirely as a gag, it further helped drive home the point about how very little scrutiny is given to some of these so-called religious organizations. They dissolved the church several months later, but the name resurfaced in June of 2021 when they created a fake healthcare sharing ministry. It too showcased how a religious entity had no obligation to provide their contributors any real value for their donations.

Late-night hosts often poke fun at a variety of people and places. Such was the case for “Last Week Tonight” when they mocked Danbury, CT. When the city’s mayor retaliated by offering to name their sewage treatment plan after host John Oliver, he quickly backtracked when people thought he was being serious. But in true John Oliver style, he pushed back offering up money to charity if the city went ahead. Sure enough, they did, and it included Oliver accepting the dedication in person. The entire ordeal is a prime example of how this show steers into its comedy, versus backing off where so many others would.

The term “sponsored content” refers to a type of advertising that is far more coy than typical ads. The audience may simply think what they are seeing is part of whatever video or article they are viewing. “Last Week Tonight” showed how simple it was to get sponsored content into news programming. With a fake product and an actress to pitch it, they managed to get three news stations to run “stories” about their adult-themed blanket. The beauty of this gag was how it showed the viewers that even their daily news can be manipulated to sell a product.

Did you know there’s actually an entire line of business involving the purchase of other people’s debt? Unbeknownst to many, debt buyers can buy off large portions of outstanding financial obligations from other creditors in exchange for a cut of whatever they recover. “Last Week Tonight” went ahead and formed a debt recovery company, and purchased $15 million dollars worth of money owing for around $60,000. They then forgave all of it. Citing it as the “largest one-time giveaway in television show history,” it was a moment that surprised viewers and showed audiences that even big-time HBO shows can have a heart.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Dr. Oz Lying Without Lying Is Still Lying

Sex Ed Famous Friends Giving Us the Real Deal

Marlon Bundo Leave it to John Oliver to Write a Children’s Book Taking Shots at Mike Pence

John Oliver did a piece about Bob Murray and his shady coal mining operations. In retaliation, Bob sued him and HBO for defamation. The case was dismissed, but Oliver wasn’t done. In a follow-up episode about SLAPP Suits (lawsuits used as scare tactics), the show took Murray’s lack of a sense of humor to the Nth degree with a five-minute musical number. It bled into the streets of New York, culminating in Times Square, all while literally flipping Murray off and singing words his repulsed staff had once signed on the back of a bonus check. This was a shining example of how freedom of speech protects individuals from people like Murray and no one better than Oliver to illustrate this.