Perpetual Emmy winner John Oliver brought his punchy personality while accepting the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series trophy. The Last Week Tonight host, of course, is skilled at mixing comedy with drama on hard-hitting subjects, yet he usually brings levity to awards ceremonies. In 2020, he also brought his red plush hoodie to his speech, but this year, he paid tribute to his late dog to both somber and humorous effect.
Well, he tried to pay that tribute while the Emmys producers began to play the “kindly leave the stage” music. As seen above, Oliver didn’t accept that gesture without a muted (albeit good-humored) “f*ck you” transpiring. Y’all know that John Oliver loves a hearty “f*ck you,” right?
“We have the most fantastic dog,” Oliver began. “She was at our wedding, she got us through the pandemic, she was with us through pregnancies.” And when the telltale music began to hit, Oliver humorously called it the “perfect choice of music” because “[w]e had to say goodbye to her. I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now.”
That’s when the “F*ck you! There you go” dropped, along with “[t]his is for all dogs … You all deserve a treat. Play me off now! Thanks so much.” Woof.