British TV network Sky has censored parts of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” over jokes about Queen Elizabeth II’s death – and viewers are raving about the pick on Twitter.
Oliver, 45, opened the HBO show — which took home two 2022 Emmys at Monday night’s awards ceremony — with a joke about Chile’s president, then said: “But of course we have to start with the UK, which is clearly still reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes.”
The British comedian then joked about the bizarre group of people paying tribute to the Queen.
“It’s a big moment when for some reason absolutely everyone thought they should get involved on Crazy Frog, who tweeted ‘RIP the Queen’. [and a] candle emoji… to Dominos UK, who posted: ‘Everyone at Domino’s joins the nation and the world in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family.’”
“Which I think is nice, although if the world is grieving, maybe they should tell the American Domino’s account whose most recent tweet from this recording is, ‘If you’re reading this, it means you need pizza to confirm .'” Oliver continued. ‘Get your damn house in order Domino’s! A LADY IS DEAD.”
He ends his jokes about Her Majesty with a joke about the new Prime Minister Liz Truss: “The death of the Queen is unfortunately not the only traumatic event Britain has had to deal with this week, because on Tuesday Liz Truss, actually Margaret Thatcher if they were high on glue would be the new prime minister.”
The UK version of the Emmy-award winning show available on Sky’s platforms cuts everything between the jokes about Chile’s president and Liz Truss — and leaves no Queen-related jabs.
Angry viewers took to Twitter to bawl Sky about the censorship.
“Dear @SkyUK, there was a VERY obvious edit in ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ tonight – what the hell? Assuming it was queen related?’ wrote.
“Don’t censor my @LastWeekTonight. I’m British, I’m a monarchist and I CAN JOKE!!!,” one user angry tweeted. “The reporting and forced mourning here is really getting out of hand.”
“@iamjohnoliver @LastWeekTonight any idea why the Queen’s death clip was removed from the latest Sky Comedy episode? Was anyone upset?,” another said.
“Very disappointed in @SkyUK censorship of @LastWeekTonight with @iamjohnoliver – we condemn other countries for this kind of behaviour. The audience is used to his irreverent style and light-hearted comments. The ‘target’ of his comments was the company’s social media,” said one user.
“We live in a country where you can’t say anything that could offend the Royals,” another commented.
“@iamjohnoliver Sky pulled out your joke about the Queen last night. cowards. Any chance you can post it here? They teased us with her photo and a really amateurish cut,” one person tried to ask the host.
This isn’t the only drama Oliver has been embroiled in lately. Also on Sunday’s episode, Oliver criticized “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf, saying his work puts law enforcement in a “good light.”
He said Wolf, 75, has a “close behind-the-scenes relationship with the NYPD, employing officers as advisers and bragging about the access he had.”
“‘Law & Order’ will never grapple with the realities of police work in any meaningful way,” Oliver concluded. “Because essentially Dick Wolf is the person responsible for ‘Law & Order’ and its brand, and he knows exactly what he wants his shows to do and, most importantly, not do.”
“Last Week Tonight” won its seventh consecutive Emmy in the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category on Monday night.