John Oliver Calls Putin a ‘Huge B*itch’ and Tells Bush to ‘Shut the F*ck Up’ About Russia Invading Ukraine
John Oliver addressed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, calling Vladimir Putin a “huge bitch.”
The host opened Last Week Tonight by noting that it had been such a news-filled week, he barely had time to celebrate the fact that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.
“As we are all now painfully aware, Vladimir Putin, Russian president, and World War III edgelord, began an assault on the second-largest country in Europe this week, shelling several cities and sending troops across the border,” Oliver said on Sunday night, explaining why all other news has taken the backseat.
The host went on to mock CNN for airing a particularly upbeat Applebee’s ad during a commercial break amid their coverage of Ukraine.
Really, CNN? There’s this thing called tone and tact. Look it up. Because your blending of commercials and all hell breaking out in Europe isn’t working. pic.twitter.com/yhnag26JQ5
— Scott Whitlock (@ScottJW) February 24, 2022
“It’s not great, is it? It’s not just that they cut to a commercial for a restaurant whose food can only be described as ‘sometimes warm,’ it’s just so aggressively American,” Oliver said of the Applebees spot. “From the country song that thinks listing food counts as lyrics all the way to this human Boot Barn shaking his nonexistent ass.”
Applebees has since issued an apology, clarifying that the company is “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine.”
Oliver then condemned former President George W. Bush for his statement on the Russian invasion, which said, “I join the international community in condemning Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”
“Hold on, George. Not from you,” Oliver cracked after reading the statement. “You are not the guy for this one. Because that statement only would have made sense if it ended with ‘Oh shit, now I hear it. Sorry. I’ll shut the fuck up now.”
The host later aired a clip of a conversation between Putin and Sergey Naryshkin, Russia’s director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, in which Naryshkin voiced his support of diplomacy with Ukraine one last time before invading.
“Unfortunately for that guy, he clearly forgot the best strategy for public speaking in Russia which is, just imagine the entire audience in their underwear, and Vladimir Putin pointing a pistol at your head. It really focuses the mind,” Oliver said, adding that Putin is “an autocrat, a tyrant, a warmonger. But also, he’s kind of a huge bitch.”
Watch above, via YouTube.
