New Delhi: India earned another mention on late-night host John Oliver’s show ‘Last Week Tonight’, after the British-American satirist lambasted Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for calling him an “ignoramus of exceedingly global proportions” in his prime time debate. This was in response to Oliver’s episode on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also slammed Disney-owned Hotstar, the online platform that streams his show in India, for blocking the episode on Modi.
In his latest episode, Oliver addressed the backlash he faced in India after the Modi episode and said, “…some diehard Modi supporters, like Arnab Goswami — the Tucker Carlson (an American conservative journalist and political commentator) of India — did not enjoy”.
John Oliver on Arnab Goswami, “the Tucker Carlson of India” 😂 pic.twitter.com/7a58aKJEk3
— Manish Vij (@manish_vij) March 9, 2020
Also read: Narendra Modi is ‘temporary symbol of hate’, comedian John Oliver says on Last Week Tonight
The episode
Oliver had, on 23 February, telecast an episode taking potshots at PM Modi’s style of governance. He had called Modi a “temporary symbol of hate” which India, the “eternal symbol of love”, does not deserve. Hotstar chose not to telecast the episode in India and Oliver also accused the streaming service of editing out his past episodes, particularly jokes involving Disney characters.
Nation wants to know
Goswami, in his prime time debate on 2 March, said that Oliver, was “a third rate TV host”, not even “smart enough to be a satirist”. He mocked the late-night host and claimed that even his “good morning” and “good evening” were written down for him by his team of researchers. He ended with a message directed at Oliver, while mispronouncing his name, “John Olivier, you embarrass yourself”.
Addressing Goswami’s criticisms, Oliver said, “I’ll give you ignoramus. I’ll even give you a third-rate TV host, my researchers assure me that’s an actual compliment. But I embarrassed myself? Who the f*** do you think you’re talking to?…I’m beyond the capacity for shame. You can’t hurt me!”
On Hotstar blocking Modi episode
Oliver also criticised the Disney-owned Hotstar for blocking the episode on Modi.
On Hotstar’s decision to take down his episode, Oliver declared that the Disney-owned company “seems to be extra sensitive about Disney references”.
It has come to John Oliver's notice that Hotstar is censoring his show in India. pic.twitter.com/HqwfjMfxzX
— Deepanjana (@dpanjana) March 9, 2020
“If you think you have to remove anything that reflects poorly on Disney on this show, I have some bad news for you, my friends,” he said, adding that he was the voice behind Zazu, a supporting character in Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of the 1994 animated movie The Lion King.
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