John Oliver Did Buy Russell Crowe’s Jockstrap After All. Here’s Why

There is just one last Blockbuster in all of Anchorage, Alaska, and John Oliver has a unique proposition for the store’s manager; he wants to give them a few select pieces of cinematic history. Specifically, he wants to give them Russell Crowe’s jockstrap from the film Cinderella Man.

A few weeks ago, Oliver reported on the unusual auction that Crowe was hosting. Called “The Art of Divorce”, where in the wake of his divorce, Crowe was selling off artifacts from his career, including the now-famous jockstrap, which sold for a whopping $7,000. Oliver joked that while buying a $7,000 jockstrap certainly sounded like something his show would do, they didn’t.

“We did though,” Oliver then said, laughing, before assuring the audience that they did not buy anything else. “But we did!” he said, grinning. Their auction winnings include both Crowe’s and Denzel Washington’s chairs from the set of American Gangster (“Denzel’s cost more!”) and the vest Crowe wore in the film Les Miserables. In addition to the jockstrap from Cinderella Man, they also purchased the silk robe and shorts he wore in the film.

Oliver has no interest in keeping the memorabilia, though. Instead he wants to send it to the last Blockbuster in Anchorage, Alaska so that they can lure customers in with a permanent display of pieces of real Hollywood history. Oliver, though, doesn’t know anyone at the last Blockbuster in Anchorage, Alaska so he put out a call on his show giving the store’s manager 48 hours to get in touch to take advantage of this unique opportunity.