In an episode dedicated to revealing the results of the 2024 presidential election, John Oliver’s line of reasoning for Kamala Harris’ loss was a running joke blaming Katy Perry’s “ill-advised” cover of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All.” In a last-minute rally.
While last week tonight The host said that everyone seems to be spinning “their own personal wheel of blame” in order to “generally make sure it reaches the people you’re mad at in the first place” – from progressives to bad campaign tactics to key demographics – he has someone else in mind.
“Personally, I’d kind of like to imagine that everything that happened on Tuesday is Katy Perry’s fault for making such ill-advised coverage at the Kamala rally on election night,” a clip of the unrecognized pop singer’s song began to play. Delivery.
Referring to the lyrics of the hit song, he joked: “I mean, you’re right, they can’t take away your dignity because you willingly gave it up.” “I know, I know she’s trying to do something nice there, but why is she trying to cover Whitney Houston – the Say what you want about Lee Greenwood – which in my case is about 18 minutes of thoroughly vetted insults – but at least when he played Trump rallies, he wasn’t trying to play Freddie Mercury in Someone to Love.
“Now, did this drunken bachelorette karaoke performance ruin Harris’ entire campaign? Probably not. But it’s good to think so because it’s an easy answer to a difficult question.
Oliver also took time to respond to critics who said Harris didn’t move far enough right on her policy positions, saying that campaigning alongside Liz Cheney was as conservative as possible “unless you literally dig up Henry Kissinger’s corpse and support her.” At a rally in Michigan as Katy Perry sings “Rolling in the Deep”. It’s okay not to have the right range for the song, Katy.
Throughout the program, the political comedian touched on what the country can expect next and what it can do.
There was the obligatory jab at Donald Trump’s ally, Elon Musk: “Seeing a man worth $300 billion asking the country to ‘endure hardship’ and ‘live within its means’ fills me with a feeling that, apparently, I can’t say out loud to him. Legal reasons.”
In addition, Oliver warned congressional Democrats who were looking to retreat early and let the speech suffer from attendance issues. “I think Kimberly Kardashian might have said it better,” he joked, before playing a clip of the socialite’s catchphrase. “Get up and work.”
“I’m angry at the prospect of four more years of people saying: “So, is your job a lot easier with Trump as president?” No, it’s not. No, it’s not. P-you’re too much! You don’t know what you’re talking about. F- you’re too much!
On a more serious note, Oliver advised viewers to “do what you have to do” to grieve: “Throw your phone into the nearest body of water, scream into a well, punch a tree, curl up in a ball and watch.” Princess Diaries All the way through, and then, at the end, when “Miracles Happen” starts playing, he yelled, “No, they don’t do that. Don’t lie to me. People can be S-S. But try not to completely obliterate yourself out of desperation.
Oliver softened his stance by adding that grassroots organizing and local politics have already seen victories amid elections, with the passage of progressive legislation such as abortion protections and the election of pro-LGBTQ candidates.
At the end of the night, Oliver said that people can resist and protest even when they are exhausted and on “fumes,” offering a final jab at Perry: “Don’t just take it from me. Take it from one of the greatest singers the world has ever seen who is being covered by a different singer.