John Oliver, already known as a vocal opponent of Brexit, has delivered a furious monologue attacking the British prime minister and key figures in the campaign for the UK to leave the EU.
“The United Kingdom,” the British host of Last Week Tonight said at the start of his show on Sunday. “A place whose very name, after this week’s events, is beginning to sound a bit sarcastic.”
First on his list of targets was David Cameron, who announced his resignation as a result of the Brexit vote. The news of his departure, Oliver admitted, should have made the host happy – but didn’t.
“It’s like catching an ice cream cone out of the air because a child was hit by a car,” the host said. “I mean, I’ll eat it. I’ll eat it, but it’s tainted somehow.”
Next up were leave leaders Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, whom Oliver called a “three-time cover model for punchable face magazine”, and Boris Johnson, former mayor of London, “a shaved orangutan with Owen Wilson’s hair”.
Farage and Johnson had both referred to Britain leaving the EU as an Independence Day for the UK.
“Britain was already independent,” the exasperated Oliver said. “In fact, it’s what many other countries celebrate their independence from.”
Oliver said he had no sympathy for those voters who are feeling remorseful about their decision to leave.
“It wasn’t a practice round,” he yelled, arms waving. “That was it!”
After playing a clip of an interview with a Portuguese woman living in the UK whose children had asked her what would happen to them next, Oliver said: “Perhaps I can help you with that, because it’s easy. Just tell them they might be screwed because a pig-fucker called for a vote, a bus had some bullshit written on it, and then two idiots named Nigel and Boris quoted President Bill Pullman.”
Turning to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who happened to be in Scotland when the result was announced, Oliver said: “You might think, ‘Well, that is not going to happen to us in America. We’re not going to listen to some ridiculously haired buffoon peddling lies and nativism in the hopes of riding a protest vote into power.’
“Well, let Britain tell you: it can happen. And when it does, there are no fucking do-overs.”
