John Oliver Mocks Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II for Being Cousins
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On Sunday, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver followed in the footsteps of Saturday Night Live in mocking the news—broken by none other than The Daily Beast—that Trump-toadying Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) had reportedly paid his pal (and accused sex trafficker) Joel Greenberg $900 via Venmo, who then sent the money to three young women, describing the transactions as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”
“You fucking idiots!” exclaimed Oliver. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but if you are making suspicious, potentially criminal transactions, Venmo is not the app to use. Venmo is for one thing and one thing only: passing judgment on friends’ spending habits while obsessing over wild financial mysteries.”
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He added, “And look, I have to tell you, Matt Gaetz has denied all accusations. And I’m sure there will be a lot more to say about all of this when he goes to prison.”
But earlier on in the program, the British-born Oliver addressed the passing of Prince Philip, aka the Duke of Edinburgh. Philip, the longtime husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died April 9 at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. And while the cause of death has not been announced, Philip is said to have died peacefully, according to the palace.
“In the U.K., Prince Philip died, which is a tragedy if you don’t know a single thing about him,” cracked Oliver. “And even if you know a little bit about him, you might not know this.”
Oliver then threw to a clip from Sky News of a British pundit who, when asked how Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II met, replied, “Well, they were related.”
“Yeah, it’s true. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth are cousins who later got married—also known as a Giuliani meet cute,” offered Oliver. (Indeed, they were third cousins who were both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.)
Prince Philip indeed left a complicated legacy—one that included plenty of charity work but also a long history of racism.
Philip told Brandreth, a former member of parliament, that while his grandson’s decision to quit royal duties and move to the U.S. was “not the right thing, either for the country or for themselves,” he accepted it. He also understood Harry’s frustration with the press and told Brandreth, “It’s his life.”
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