'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' Discussed ‘Touchy’ Subject In Show, Reveals Vegetable Sponsor
While it has been set as a comedy program, HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" admitted that the comedian discussed a 'touchy' subject in last week's episode which is mental illness, Wall Street Journal reports.
The Oct. 4 episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" featured a full report on the severe flaws in national mental-health treatment, discussing everything from placement of patients in nursing homes - with some of them unfortunately being put in prison - and to the infamous "Greyhound therapy," where patients on recovery are discharged from psychiatric hospitals and given a one-way ticket to leave the town.
Oliver, 38, says: "Perhaps the clearest sign of just how little we want to talk about mental health is one of the only times it's actively brought up is, as we've seen yet again this week, in the aftermath of a mass shooting, as a means of steering the conversation away from gun control."
He later added, "If now is our only opportunity to have a public discussion about mental health, then perhaps we should do it."
Despite being a satire news program, this episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" did make sense in how mental health treatment in US has been poorly overlooked by the government. The recent Oregon College shooting incident have left 10 casualties including the gunman himself - 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer, and his motive in doing the unthinkable is left unknown.
Still, the show never dropped its comedic flavor; with the host revealed the show's um, "sponsor," via Twitter. But hey, what's a good show without some sponsorship, right? The account posted a jokey tweet last Oct. 7, saying that "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" is proudly sponsored by spaghetti squash according to a report from Observer.
The HBO comedy show premiered in April 2014, with Oliver taking a satirical look at recent news, politics, and current events on a weekly basis. It's becoming more and more popular recently due to its surprising in-depth reports on national issues and corruption, yet still blended with random punchlines for laughs.
