John Oliver made some funny references to his new corporate parent on Sunday Last week tonight.
Oliver didn’t talk about Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery owner last week tonightOn last week’s episode, the network home, HBO. But on Sunday’s edition he did have a few quips about Skydance, which also acquired Paramount last year.
During his main segment, which was about generic drugs, Oliver raised the issue of U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight of foreign companies producing these drugs.
“You should be aware that while surprise FDA inspections are common for U.S. factories, most FDA inspections conducted overseas are actually announced in advance, allowing manufacturers to prepare for them and potentially hide any issues,” he explained. “In fact, one study found that the likelihood of a facility receiving the most serious inspection result is more than 250 percent for an unannounced inspection, which makes perfect sense, right? You clean when you know people are coming.”
Oliver then jokes about the studio in which his own show is taped. “The only reason this studio is so clean is because I knew you all were coming here today,” he said. “Otherwise this place will turn into a complete pigpen. And by the way, I mean this literally: I run a wet market here the rest of the week. I’m just trying to get out before any Paramount budget cuts.”
Later in the show, Oliver lampooned the Liberty Mutual mascot, Liberty Biberty, and displayed the round yellow character in several suggestive poses, encouraging his viewers to share such images in an effort to remove the mascot from the company’s advertising campaign.
After showing these images, he joked: “I’m thrilled to be part of the Skydance family! Hope you’re happy with what you bought, guys! We’re never changing! … Never – we’re never changing!”