--- title: John Oliver Devotes 'Last Week Tonight' to Brett Kavanaugh description: “I’m starting to think men might be too emotional for the Supreme Court,“ John Oliver said of Kavanaugh on Last Week Tonight. canonical: https://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-01T17:29:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:01:13.189Z og:title: John Oliver Devotes Whole Episode to Brett Kavanaugh og:description: “Men might be too emotional for the Supreme Court,“ Oliver said og:url: https://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c594b8cd861096f/6989379ebc6cfc06873e6ae1/gettyimages-4834445162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: 2015 Summer TCA Tour - 31st Annual Television Critics Association Awards og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Oliver Devotes Whole Episode to Brett Kavanaugh twitter:description: “Men might be too emotional for the Supreme Court,“ Oliver said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c594b8cd861096f/6989379ebc6cfc06873e6ae1/gettyimages-4834445162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Oliver Dedicates Entire _Last Week Tonight_ Episode to His Questions About Brett Kavanaugh > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=03f20237-7f15-47d7-8f8e-ec90148ec51b&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Says That Accusations Against Him Are Part of a "Political Hit" [Watch (HLS stream): Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Says That Accusations Against Him Are Part of a "Political Hit"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vF6f7RC0.m3u8) (1:46)  _Published 2018-09-27. He made the remarks during a statement in a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Oct 1, 2018 5:29 PM UTC He made the remarks during a statement in a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Oct 1, 2018 5:29 PM UTC John Oliver broke with the typical _Last Week Tonight_ format to spend the majority of Sunday night’s episode on [Brett Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5411043/matt-damon-mocks-brett-kavanaugh-snl/), who is both a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court and, as Oliver calls him, a “walking crushed beer can.” In the wake of [Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony](http://time.com/longform/christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh-testimony-pictures/) where she accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her in high school, [Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5410957/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-midterms/) “came straight out of the gate weird,“ according to Oliver, showing a clip of Kavanaugh seeming to get teary-eyed while talking about high school workouts with his school’s quarterback. “I’m starting to think men might be too emotional for the Supreme Court,“ said Oliver. “He’d be really pretty if he smiled more.“ Kavanaugh who Oliver said got noticeably angry, claiming that he was the victim of a smear campaign, including assertions that he is the type of a guy who would get in a “fight on a boat in Rhode Island,” Oliver cracked. According to Oliver, Kavanaugh’s testimony was marked by dodging questions about whether he would support an FBI investigation, his[ opening statement](http://time.com/5409283/brett-kavanaugh-opening-statement/) was decidedly political, he interrupted senators, and “repeatedly wept at the concept of calendars.” At the end of the week, according to Oliver, it came down to whether you believed the “the terrified psychology professor who blew up her entire life to relive her trauma on a national stage” or “Judge _Animal House_ who seemed to be sweatily making up drinking games before members of the Senate.“ After all this, Oliver can’t see a single good reason for conservatives to continue supporting Kavanaugh over an equally conservative replacement candidate who isn’t “an unhinged partisan with multiple allegations of sexual assault hanging over him.“ Oliver’s interpretation of the GOP’s [continued support](http://time.com/5409141/lindsey-graham-brett-kavanaugh-hearing/) for Kavanaugh is that it’s not only a “f-ck you to Democrats, but a f-ck you to women.” Oliver also notes that at the beginning of the week people were concerned the committee would not believe Ford’s accusations, but by the end of the week it seemed that “something darker had happened,” whereby the committee “believed her, but they just didn’t care.” If Kavanaugh does get confirmed, Oliver is prepared with an apt doppelganger for _Last Week Tonight_’s Animal Supreme Court. In Oliver’s opinion, Kavanaugh doesn’t deserve to be represented by a dog like the rest of the Supreme Court justices, but by [Gritty](http://time.com/5405221/gritty-mascot/), the Philadelphia Flyers [new mascot,](http://time.com/5405739/gritty-debut-fall/) which Oliver describes as looking like a “carpet swatch tweaking on bath salts.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/"},"headline":"John Oliver Dedicates Entire Last Week Tonight Episode to His Questions About Brett Kavanaugh","datePublished":"2018-10-01T17:29:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:01:13.189Z","description":"“I’m starting to think men might be too emotional for the Supreme Court,“ Oliver said","url":"https://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c594b8cd861096f/6989379ebc6cfc06873e6ae1/gettyimages-4834445162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c594b8cd861096f/6989379ebc6cfc06873e6ae1/gettyimages-4834445162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 Summer TCA Tour - 31st Annual Television Critics Association Awards","caption":"2015 Summer TCA Tour - 31st Annual Television Critics Association Awards","creditText":"Frederick M. 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