After a long three-month hiatus, John Oliver returns to HBO for his 10th season. Last week Tonight this Sunday. And the first thing he had to say was blockbuster text messages that the stars of Fox News sent to each other shortly after the 2020 election.
Oliver began his season premiere by sharing details of those messages, revealed in the legal filing surrounding the Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against network, in which hosts like Tucker Carlson called Trump’s election a “ridiculous” lie and “completely off the rails.”
The host replied: “Well, if I were a Fox viewer, I would feel pretty betrayed for that. “This is like finding out that Big Bird regularly texts Elmo, ‘Fuck them,’ and Elmo agrees.”
According to Oliver, the profile “shows the extent to which Fox hosts don’t believe in what they’re selling, which is perfectly fine if you work for QVC and you have to spend an hour explaining why.” why the gem encrusted squat potty will change your life. But, it’s a bit more unsettling when you pretend to be news.
And while the Fox stars appear to be “frightened” about “losing their audience to more conspiracy-friendly networks like Newsmax,” Oliver thinks they’re trying to retain those viewers. is a mistake.
“We also faced pressure to maintain our audience,” he joked. “It’s just that we do it the old fashioned way: with integrity, self-respect, and blind luck to broadcast right after hit dramas that audiences really want to see. It’s not difficult!”
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