John Oliver Speaks Out On Orlando Club Shooting On ‘Last Week Tonight’

On Last Week Tonight host John Oliver took a moment of the comedy talk-show to acknowledge Sunday’s mass-shooting in Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Oliver opened: “Before we start the show tonight I would like to quickly address the tragic events in Orlando.” After giving details on the attack, he continued: “Look, it’s still early and details are still emerging, and right now… this just hurts.”

Referencing last year’s terrorist attack on Paris which left 130 dead, Oliver says the pain of Sunday’s shooting was “so familiar.”

“In Paris last November, terrorists seemed to target places symbolizing everything that is wonderful about France: culture, music, restaurants,” Oliver said. “In Orlando, early this morning, the gunman attacked a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world. For the record, I will happily embrace a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”

Oliver felt it was “hard to even know what to do in the wake of an event like this,” but assured the audience that, although it would feel inappropriate, the show would go on as scheduled.

The host attempted to shift the focus of the conversation from the tragedy of lost and hateful attacks to the hopefulness found in humanity.

“But for right now, on a day when some dipsh–- terrorist wants us to focus on one man’s act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video, which was posted to Twitter today. It shows hundreds and hundreds of people this morning lining up around the block in Florida waiting to donate blood, and it kind of reminds you that this terrorist dipsh–- is vastly outnumbered,” Oliver said.

The video shows a seemingly endless line outside a blood donation center. According to The New York Times, there was such a large turnout of donors that centers like OneBlood had to start turning people away, requesting that they come back throughout the next several days.

 

The gay nightclub Pulse was attacked on a Latin-themed night early Sunday morning. Fifty people were killed and 53 were left injured. Omar Mateen has been identified as the shooter. He used a military-grade assault riffle to carry out the event. The gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State in a call to 911 prior to the attack.