No, John Oliver Didn’t “Freak Out"
The Claim
John Oliver, the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, “freak[ed]” after a town named their sewage plant after him.
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Emerging story
On one of John Oliver’s segments, he discusses his ongoing feud with Danbury, Connecticut. The town then jokingly threatened to name one of their sewage plants after him. Breitbart, an alt-right news website, posted an article in late August 2020 claiming Oliver “freak[ed] out” in response to the naming.
The claim was immediately shared by social media users.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation discovered found that the claim is false on several accounts. The Breitbart article claims that the town actually named a sewage treatment the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant. However, it was actually a joke posted to Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s Facebook page.
Further, after watching the original video of his response, which Breitbart neglected to link to, we found it clear that John Oliver is merely joking. The video is below (warning: graphic language).
The Breitbart article implies that Oliver had something like a temper tantrum and “freaked out.” Misbar discovered that he told his audience that the town has been ranked the second-best place to live in the country, in addition to complimenting its museums and restaurants. Further, he has offered to donate to charity if Danbury follows through on its joke to name the sewage treatment facility after him.
While Oliver has some issue with Danbury’s jury-selection process, his hyperbolic response was done for the purpose of entertainment.
