In the wake of the controversy surrounding incoming The Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s old tweets, John Oliver says having regrettable jokes is a part of every successful comedian’s development.
“You want to be embarrassed by the standards of the things you were doing [in the past],” the TIME 100 honoree and host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight said at this year’ gala, calling that embarrassment “part of getting better.”
Within 24 hours of being named the successor to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, South African comedian Noah faced backlash over a number of years-old tweets that critics deemed, among other things, misogynist, anti-Semitic and fat-shaming. “I think John Cleese said [that] no one has the right to not be offended,” Oliver said. “Comedy is always going to ruffle feathers.”
Speaking about his own career, Oliver said there’s no shortage of terrible jokes from his past that he hopes never see the light of day again. “Listen, I’m a standup. If you go through the first years of my career, thank f-ck there weren’t camera phones,” he said, referring to his early work as “relentless, embarrassing, incompetent failure.”
Oliver, who said he hoped to meet fellow TIME 100 honoree Joanne Liu of Doctors Without Borders at this year’s TIME 100 Gala, said he was excited by this year’s turnover in late-night television hosts but that Stewart’s departure was “heartbreaking as a viewer” because “he’s the best that’s ever done this.”
See the Stars at the 2015 TIME 100 Gala
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Brendan McDermid—ReutersEmma Watson attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/Getty ImagesJulianne Moore attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMELorne Michaels attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEKanye West and Kim Kardashian West, along with Amy Schumer, attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEFaith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEAmy Schumer attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEJohn Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEMisty Copeland attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEJorge Ramos attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEBarbara Walters attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEArianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMELindsey Vonn and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEJulianna Margulies attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Bennett Raglin—Getty Images for TIMEBrian Chesky and Elissa Patel attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USADiane Von Furstenberg attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEPadma Lakshmi attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEDanny Meyer and Audrey Meyer attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEJohn Green and Sarah Urist Green attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEAbby Wambach and Sarah Huffman attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEDr. Tom Frieden attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEIna Garten and Jeffrey Garten attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEChanda Kochhar attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMERupert Murdoch attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEArianna Huffington attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEJenji Kohan attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMELindsey Vonn attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEGuests at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEMartha Stewart and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIMEBradley Cooper and Willie Geist attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEBradley Cooper and Emma Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMELaverne Cox attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEDiane von Furstenberg and Julianne Moore attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEChristopher Nolan talks to TIME reporter Nolan Feeney during the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015.Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIMEKim Kardashian West attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEMartha Stewart and Karlie Kloss attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEJohn Oliver attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City April 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMESamantha Powers, Ronan Farrow, Mia Farrow, and Cass Sunstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015.
Andrew Hinderaker for TIMECraig Venter and Elizabeth Holmes attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEBradley Cooper, Jane Boon, Norman Pearlstein attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USAFaith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEBarbara Walters and Diane von Furstenberg attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Larry Busacca—Getty Images for TIMESister Rosemary Nyirumbe and Kira Orange-Jones attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEArianna Huffington, Nancy Gibbs and Samantha Power
attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker for TIMEBrian Grazer and guest attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIMELee Daniels and Clara Watson attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015. Jemal Countess—Getty Images for TIMETim McGraw performs onstage during TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEBradley Cooper, Nancy Gibbs, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian West attend the TIME 100 gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Apr. 21, 2015.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEKanye West performs at TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People In The World at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Apr. 21, 2015 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEKanye West performs on stage at the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEJulianne Moore and Bart Freundlich attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Clint Spaulding—Patrick McMullan/Sipa USAJulianna Margulies and Keith Lieberthal attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USAGeorge Lucas, Kanye West, and Elon Musk attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEBradley Cooper and Lorne Michaels attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMEMartha Stewart Kanye West attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan —Sipa USALaverne Cox, Kim Kardashian and Naomi Campbell attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Patrick McMullan—Sipa USAMarie Kondo, Julianne Moore and Jenna Lyons attend the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 21, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for TIMELaverne Cox poses with a TIME 100 gift bag as she attends the TIME 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY, on Apr. 21, 2015.Andrew Hinderaker for TIME
