John Oliver drops f-bomb at Emmys 2024 as speech dedicated to his dead dog gets cut short
John Oliver doesn’t like to be silenced.
The comedian, 47, cursed during his acceptance speech when “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” won Outstanding Scripted Variety Series at the Emmys 2024 on Sunday night.
Oliver’s speech got cut off as he began to talk about his dog that died.
“I also want to thank — this is going to be very silly — our dog,” he said on stage. “We had the most fantastic dog. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us through the two pregnancies.”
As the “get-off-stage” instrumental music played out loud, Oliver said, “Perfect choice of music. We had to say goodbye to her.”
The late-night host then yelled out, “F – – k you!”
“I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now,” Oliver joked. “She was an amazing dog. Ouch. This isn’t just for her — this is for all dogs. You’re all very good girls. You’re very good boys. You all deserve a treat.”
“Play me off now,” Oliver concluded.
Before the dog talk, Oliver gave several shout-outs as he accepted his Emmy on stage.
“Thank you to my staff,” he began. “Some of them are here. Others are in Brooklyn. I don’t know that they’re watching this, but I know they’re in Brooklyn. Whatever you’re doing I hope you’re having fun.”
He went on, “I’d like to thank HBO for not canceling us over the last decade. That was never a guarantee. I appreciate it. Please carry on.”
Oliver also thanked his wife, Kate Norley, and their kids. He mistakenly called his son Hudson his “husband.”
“His name is Hudson. Ouch,” he said. “That’s going to come back to haunt me.”
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” has been airing on HBO since 2014.
The show has won 30 Emmys out of 67 nominations.
In an interiew with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, Oliver was asked what his wife thinks about his “wilder segments” on his show.
“It goes back to risk. She just wants to understand why a risk is worth taking,” he said. “The Clarence Thomas thing is difficult to explain when the first thing you say is, “OK, we’ve written this contract so that I will owe Clarence Thomas a million dollars a year for the rest of his life.” It would be financially catastrophic for me but be good for America — and I think that’s a trade-off that’s worth making.
“She came to that show, which she doesn’t do often. Afterward, she said, ‘Oh, I understand. This could turn our lives upside down, but it’s totally worth it,’ ” Oliver added.
Oliver and Norley, 46, have been married since 2011. Their sons were born in 2015 and 2018.
