John Oliver Goes For Comedy Gold Urging Cancellation Of Tokyo Olympics
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John Oliver isn’t rooting for the Tokyo Olympics to reach the finish line.
On “Last Week Tonight” Sunday, the host of the HBO show made the case for canceling the games due to the COVID-19pandemic. The virus still very much has a grip on Japan, with daily death rates higher than when the games were originally delayed last year, he noted. And the vaccination rate remains in the single-digit percentages.
“I don’t know what the target percentage should be to safely host the Olympics,” Oliver said, as seen in the clip below. “I’m pretty sure right now it should be higher than the number of entries in the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise.”
Oliver also took issue with the International Olympic Committee technically having the sole authority to scrap the event, leaving Japan somewhat powerless despite protests.
Oliver likened the situation to attempting to reschedule a sick child’s birthday party, “only to get overruled by the clown you hired.”
Adopting the voice of the clown, the comedian sniped: “Hey, I don’t care if you’ve got the bubonic fucking plague. From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., you’re on Bozo’s clock, bitch.’”
The host pointed to reports that Japan has already spent at least $15 billion preparing for the games ― and perhaps double that. He said he couldn’t help but feel that the “main motivator” for persisting with the plans was money.
“It’s not like Japan needs the Olympics to boost tourism,” he said. “It’s Japan!”
The games begin July 23.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
