Last month John Oliver devoted not a segment but most of an episode to Elon Musk. Was it savage? Oh yes. Was it also kind of measured? Actually, also yes. The Last Week Tonight host found some nice things to say about him, and he painted a complex portrait of a guy who’s not as devious as he sometimes seems, despite often coming off as a “bad guy in a movie.” Musk did not enjoy this report and he, a famously unfunny guy, declared Oliver unfunny. Now Oliver’s striking back, sort of, kind of reluctantly.
Before the Emmys Monday (where his show won one), TMZ caught up with Oliver (as caught by The Daily Beast) to ask what he thought of Musk’s retort. He both didn’t return fire and kind of did.
“You’re going to have to track him down and ask him. I don’t know. That’s a thin skin,” Oliver responded. “I cannot possibly pretend to guess what is in that man’s mind at any time. He seems wounded.”
When asked about Musk’s claim that Oliver’s no longer funny, Oliver shrugged and, with a chuckle, said, “Sure. It’s a fair argument.”
Oliver agreed that Musk is “definitely sensitive, that is a biological fact.” But he didn’t know what to even make of Musk’s claim that he’s lost his edge because he panders to “wokeness.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Oliver said with a laugh. “I don’t think he could explain what that means, and I think it means nothing.”
Oliver was then asked if he thinks their “relationship” is damaged beyond repair.
“I would imagine the relationship between the richest man in the world — second richest — and a mid-tier comedian will probably evaporate,” he replied. (Although it’s worth noting Forbes just named Musk the planet’s number one richest person, although he did lose that title for a bit in late 2022 after initially buying Twitter, which is still costing him money.)
Oliver doesn’t too concerned that Musk no longer finds him funny, but clearly he’s fine with that. After all, we already know what Musk actually finds funny.
You can watch TMZ‘s chat with Oliver below.
(Via TMZ and The Daily Beast)