John Oliver Goes to War with Alex Jones on Last Week Tonight

3 minute read

John Oliver made a roaring return to Last Week Tonight after three-week long hiatus by starting a war with Alex Jones, the man behind InfoWars.

Oliver didn’t go after Jones for his targeting of the parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre (although Oliver did call that behavior the “Easy Pass to whatever is hell’s version of the champagne room”), instead Oliver focused on the products that Jones sells on his TV show, InfoWars.

After watching his show for a week, the HBO host noted that Jones spent nearly 25% of the time talking about or playing ads for his products, including survival gear, organic shampoo and body wash, and something called “Combat One” moist towelettes that specifically state that they “can be used anywhere needed, including the perineal area.” He even offered a supplement with ingredients found only in “comets” and “trace amounts in blueberries.” Oliver bought many of the products, including the “Bill Clinton rape whistle” from the website Jones runs, and Oliver noted, it came with a free “9-11 Was an Inside Job” bumper sticker. Oliver also noted that an ex-employee said Jones “can sell 500 supplements in an hour … it’s like QVC for conspiracy.”

According to Oliver, Jones urges his viewers to “fund” his show through his products. “It’s like an NPR pledge drive for people who hate NPR,” said Oliver. During his interview with Megyn Kelly on her show, which Oliver called “Rationalizing Low Ratings with Megyn Kelly,” Jones told Kelly that it costs $45-50 million to keep InfoWars running and claimed that the money he’s making is going back into the show, although Oliver noted that Jones had several Rolex watches so perhaps funding the show wasn’t the main goal.

Oliver also noted that Jones’s “medical expert” Dr. Edward Group III, who Jones insisted that he “got his degree from MIT,” actually got a degree from Texas Chiropractic College, and MIT told Last Week Tonight that “it is not accurate to say [Group] has a degree from MIT.” Oliver brought out his own medical expert — played by 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer — to sell his own tactical assault wipes on the website, InfoWipes.com

 

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