Comedian John Oliver has earned an amazingly gross honor – one that Connecticut teachers and kids can all get behind. Celebrated for his award-winning television show Last Week Tonight, Oliver occasionally combines bizarre challenges with remarkable generosity. One such example is a months-long feud with a New England city that has just granted Oliver recognition in the most unusual of places.
Oliver uses a unique blend of comedy and research to execute “deep dives” into important global topics on Last Week Tonight, which has secured "Best Variety Talk Series" Emmys every year from 2015-2020. The format is one in which a main segment presents perspective on a single issue at length. These stories, while admirably well researched, integrate excoriating humor alongside references from popular culture and unexpected segues to keep the audience hooked.
So as New York Daily News reported, Thursday marked an outrageous milestone for both John Oliver and the town of Danbury, Connecticut: the town voted to name its sewage plan after the television host. How did that happen?
It all started when Oliver went on an anti-Danbury rant during a late August segment about juries. The piece detailed how clerical errors had disproportionately prevented citizens from certain Connecticut towns from being called for service as jurors, including 63% of the state’s African-American population and 68% of its Hispanic population. Oliver followed this sobering fact with a rant about how Danbury and its citizens would be preferred townspeople to "forget."
He included this challenge: “If you’re from there, you’ve got a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver, children included.” In the subsequent weeks, Danbury citizens issued funny and defensive responses online. One of the most adorable replies came from 8-year-old resident Caio P. Leaf, who challenged Oliver to a hosting “duel” via his YouTube video on Caio Ninja News.
Ultimately, Oliver loved the efforts of Danbury citizens to challenge his critique. In fact, Danbury Mayor, Mark Boughton, issued a rebuttal that threatened to rename its new waste facility after the host, and Mr. Oliver was actually enthusiastic. The mayor indicated at first that the “John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant” was a joke, but the British-American humorist was having none of it.
As Consequence of Sound explained, “He pledged $55,000 in donations to Danbury charities, including $25K to Connecticut Food Bank, another $25K to fulfill all requests by Danbury school teachers on Donors Choose, and $5K to ALS Association Connecticut. He even already made the actual John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant sign so Boughton wouldn’t have to waste tax payers’ money.” The only catch? He wanted his name on "that sh*t factory.”
This week, the host’s wish has come true. An 18-1 vote in favor passed on Thursday, and $30,000 of Oliver’s pledged donations have already reached Danbury teachers to date. As mayor and host both followed through on their pledges, local families and teachers benefited the most. And the feud continued to give traction to the original video, which supported a revamp of broken systems that disproportionately disfavored persons of color. With thanks to Caio and the mayor, Danbury schools have an influx of unanticipated support – all for the price of one new sewage plant name.
Sources: Consequence of Sound, News Times, New York Daily News, YouTube