John Oliver Takes Down HBO with Savage Monologue: “Who Gives a Sh*t” About HBO Max

John Oliver has proven once again that he’s unafraid to piss off HBO. In a new episode of Last Week Tonight, the late night host took a jab at his own network when he brought up HBO Max’s decision to pull Gone with the Wind due to its racist depiction of Black people. While Oliver seemed to agree with the decision to temporarily remove the film, he mocked White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s outrage over the move, asking, “Who gives a shit if something’s not on HBO Max?”

Oliver spent much of Sunday’s show evaluating the dangers of facial recognition technology, but he opened the broadcast with a shrewd analysis of the week’s news. The HBO host noted that anti-racism protests across the country led to the removal of Confederate statues, NASCAR’s banning of the Confederate flags, and even HBO’s temporary removal of Gone with the Wind. The final development earned a sharp rebuke from McEnany, who asked in a press conference, “Where do you draw the line? Should George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison be erased from history?”

“First, as I’ve said before, the answer to ‘Where do you draw the line?’ is literally always ‘Somewhere!’ You draw it somewhere!” replied Oliver. “Also, HBO is not permanently pulling the movie. It’s going back up with additional context.”

The Last Week Tonight host is correct: Gone with the Wind was only removed temporarily in order to give HBO Max time to properly contextualize the film. When it returns, it will feature an introduction by Black scholar and TCM host Jacqueline Stewart, who will place the film’s depiction of the antebellum South and glorification of slavery in “multiple historical contexts.”

Oliver then managed to take a swipe at both McEnany and HBO in one fell swoop. He asked who really cares if something is missing from HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s new service that boasts content from HBO, TNT, TBS, Warner Bros., and many other networks in the company’s portfolio. “In fact,” said Oliver, “There may be no better way to obliterate all evidence of something’s existence than to put it on HBO Max, the only ash heap of history that costs $15 a month.”

John Oliver’s savage takedown of HBO is available to stream on (you guessed it) HBO.

Where to stream Last Week Tonight with John Oliver