EXCLUSIVE: No, John Oliver‘s lengthy rant about the UK election and Conservative Party woes is not about to be censored in Britain.
Sky Comedy did not broadcast the latest episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in its usual Monday home, sparking fears it would not be made available to British viewers.
While it is true that strict impartiality rules will prevent Sky from airing Last Week Tonight on television, the Comcast-owned broadcaster will make the show available to stream online later on Tuesday. Video-on-demand content is not regulated as tightly as TV in Britain.
A Sky source said Last Week Tonight would be unedited and include Oliver’s 30-minute segment on the election. Elements from the show are already going viral on social media in the UK.
Sky has previously edited Last Week Tonight for UK audiences. In 2022, the pay-TV operator cut some of Oliver’s tongue-in-cheek comments about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Oliver, who was born in Birmingham, took aim at all British political parties during his roast, but saved particular venom for the Tories, arguing that the July 4 election was an opportunity to tell the “c****, f***pigs and weirdos” to “f*** off into the sun.”
He added: “If a wild badger broke into your home and f***** everything up for 14 years straight, tearing absolutely everything apart, you would think: ‘OK, you know what, we’ll worry about redecorating choices later. Right now, that badger needs to fucking go.’”
Oliver also poked fun at Labour leader Keir Starmer, who will likely become prime minister next week. “Fun fact about Keir: there aren’t any,” he said. “His most notable attribute may be having no real notable attributes at all.”