John Oliver became the unwitting subject of controversy in his native United Kingdom last week when a joke from an episode of his show 'Last Week Tonight' was cut by UK broadcasters.
Speaking to fellow TV host Seth Meyers, the comedian said he was "perplexed" that a joke at Queen Elizabeth's expense was cut out of the UK broadcast.
In the episode that aired following the death of Queen Elizabeth, Oliver opened the show with the line "The UK was reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes," which he said was him merely stating a fact with "a dickish inflection."
Viewers were quick to notice that the line was omitted from the UK transmission of the episode, but remained intact elsewhere.
The line in question served as the opening for a segment that ridiculed unexpected social media tributes for Queen Elizabeth, pointing out absurd tributes from the likes of Crazy Frog.
“And yet they cut it out,” Oliver remarked, "which is pretty shitty because apparently all we’ve heard all week is the queen had this incredible sense of humor. Just nonstop – Oh, she was so funny. Seth, she was so funny. The queen, she was razor sharp.”
Oliver has become one of the main faces of American television after his show 'Last Week Tonight' debuted in 2014, with the show regularly having segments go viral and taking home truckloads of Emmys.
The comedian discussed the UK's mourning period for the monarch, which he described as "very weird."
The funnyman took aim at the UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss, remarking "the nicest thing the Queen of England ever did for anyone was die the week that woman (Truss) became Prime Minister. Because for at least a week, she’s not going to be getting justifiably destroyed."
In his chat with Meyers, Oliver also remarked on the viral clip of the monarch eating marmalade sandwiches with Paddington Bear, which lead to him remarking "I’m watching a bear carry her comedically in a scene - she’s giving that bear nothing back!"
You can watch the full John Oliver interview with Seth Meyers below.
