On Sunday’s (June 3) Last Week Tonight, John Oliver vaguely addressed the backlash that his former Daily Show colleague Samantha Bee received after she called Ivanka Trump a “feckless c—.“
In a segment about the guardianship of senior citizens, the host told a joke about the planet Mercury’s concept of time that could only be appreciated by astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. After Oliver asked Tyson if he enjoyed the joke, the astrophysicist appeared in a clip and explained that the joke was not factually accurate, which set off Oliver. “Shut up Neil! Why do you have to ruin everything!” responded Oliver. “Just enjoy something, for once in your fucking life! What is wrong with you, you feckless — oh, never mind, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. Bad idea.”
Bee apologized for referring to President Trump’s daughter with the vulgar slur, saying, “I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
As for elder guardianship, Olvier outlined a number of problems, including the guardians’ control over the elderly individual and easy access to personal documents, he explained, “I am not saying that guardianship as a system is inherently bad.“ He added that the system should be improved as the need for guardianship increases. “That is all the more reason for us to improve its checks and balances from greater regulation to more funding for oversight.”
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“I know that if you’re a little older, you may not want to hear advice from a fresh-faced, ‘Holy shit is he really only 41 years old?’ So we’ve actually enlisted some help to get the message across,” said Oliver before introducing a clip that features a number of stars advocating for better guardianship of senior citizens.
“Look, we all get old eventually,” said Fred Willard as he opened the mock PSA. “It’s just part of life,” continued Rita Moreno. “And someday you will, too,” added Cloris Leachman.
“Obviously you won’t age as well as us,” said William Shatner. “We’re glamorous celebrities with access to skincare technology that won’t be on the market for decades,” added Lily Tomlin.
The stars then said that anyone can die before they reach old age. “By getting hit by lightning,” suggested Tomlin. Willard added, “Or eating too many Tide pods.”
Shatner mentioned that you can even die ”by getting killed by a hippo.” Moreno added that it is a very common form of death. Leachman added, “They’re fucking killing machines.”
After Moreno said that the intention of the PSA isn’t to talk about hippos, the group exclaimed that the deaths caused by hippos are why they are in the PSA to begin with. “What do you mean we’re not talking about hippos? I thought this was a whole hippo thing,” said Willard.
“Getting older can mean needing someone to help look after you and your affairs,” said Tomlin. “You should make sure that that’s someone you know and not some random person you’ve never met who just wants to spend all your money on fucking stretch pants,” suggested Moreno.
After encouraging viewers to select someone they trust to serve as their healthcare representative, the celebrities gave examples of family members and friends that are appropriate for the job. “Or Mr. Tom Hanks,” said Willard. “Jimmy Stewart would’ve been my go-to guy, but that was in the past.”
The mock PSA concludes with the celebrities filling out paperwork to declare their healthcare representative. “I hereby make Tom Hanks,” said Moreno as she filled out the paperwork. “This clipboard is filthy,” added Leachman.
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The stars then told viewers that they should discuss their plans with family members, no matter how far off their death may seem.
“Also, hippos are killing machines,” added Moreno as the rest of the celebrities, with the exclusion of Tomlin, agreed.
