Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Online Harassment of Women

June 23, 2015 1:33 AM - Season 2, Episode 18

This week: Shootings in South Carolina. Russians plan "Patroit Park," a theme park for national military fans. The US $10 bill is being redesigned to include a woman's face. And Now: C-Span Callers Suggest Women For The $10 Bill. Main story: On the harassment of women on the internet. YouTube (17m) Last Week Tonight remakes an old AOL ad.
posted by JHarris (16 comments total)

(Ack, I forgot to close the tag on the YouTube link. Can a mod help me out here?)
posted by JHarris at 1:34 AM on June 23, 2015

"Congratulations on your white penis!"
And, when is a kayak buddy NOT a kayak buddy?

Brilliant stuff here, but I really wish he'd come down even harder on the GamerGate people, but that's just me being old.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 8:55 AM on June 23, 2015

I'd a watch a sitcom with Rob Huebel and Colin Hanks where they perform like 90s ad/video tutorial/infomercial buddies.
posted by lmfsilva at 9:09 AM on June 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

The whole episode was brilliant.
posted by juiceCake at 9:14 AM on June 23, 2015

OMG, I didn't even realize that was Colin Hanks.

(And of course GG is already brigading the comments and voting on the video.)
posted by kmz at 9:57 AM on June 23, 2015

The comments on that video make me weep for humanity. I sincerely hope John dedicates an entire ep to de-fanging the GG community.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:31 AM on June 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

"Russia! A country that will always be funny until it very suddenly isn't."
posted by The Whelk at 10:58 AM on June 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

I sincerely hope John dedicates an entire ep to de-fanging the GG community.

If I was them, I'd be incredibly careful poking Oliver, because he might well do that.


So, yes. Poke away, and make him mad.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:02 AM on June 23, 2015

Yeah lmfsilva, every time I think he's proposing something ridiculous and obviously won't follow through/take it up to 11, he does -- so indeed, fire away, John! The world could definitely use more journalistic reflections of Harry Potter in a doorknob nowadays.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:58 AM on June 23, 2015

I love this man, creepy spider hands and all.
posted by orange swan at 12:13 PM on June 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like how he never mentions GG at all but they've flipped out anyway. It's almost like they realize they're associated with internet harassment of women.
posted by brundlefly at 12:35 PM on June 23, 2015 [11 favorites]

I loved this the minute I saw it because I knew it would make a bunch of idiots shit themselves in a fit of cognitive dissonance.
posted by Justinian at 4:15 PM on June 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Having only seen Colin Hanks in Fargo and Mad Men, I almost didn't recognize him and had to google the sketch to be sure.

It's rather creepy and effective how towards the end they drop the cheery overacting for a moment and start chewing their lips and looking like they're thinking really vicious thoughts.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:04 PM on June 23, 2015

Also, in that moment I realized that the next time someone makes a movie about a deeply sociopathic tech startup CEO who is just barely keeping a lid on it, they need to cast Rob Heubel. He could so nail it.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:22 PM on June 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

If The League is any indication, Rob Heubel is pretty good at making normal looking, but very, very twisted characters.
posted by lmfsilva at 9:37 AM on June 24, 2015

If I was 20 years younger I could have imagined myself getting caught up in some shit like GG. Because I hadn't yet learned the valuable life lesson that the evil of your enemies does not make you good. That harassing a bully is still harassment. (and often you are mislead into who is a bully)

I find it all a big sad pile of yuck.
posted by French Fry at 6:19 AM on June 26, 2015