Like most late night comedians, John Oliver lobbed a few jokes about the death of Queen Elizabeth II during a recent episode of Last Week Tonight. However, if you were watching the program through the massive Comcast-owned Sky TV in Britain, you didn’t see any of the Queen-related jokes. The network reportedly censored portions of the broadcast that mostly made fun of the odd reactions to the Queen’s death more than her passing, but apparently, that was enough to warrant a few edits.
Among other things, Oliver made fun of tributes to the late queen from such companies as Domino’s Pizza and the likes of cartoon character Crazy Frog. “Obviously, we have to start with the U.K., which is clearly still reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes,” the host said. “It is a big moment [of] the week, and for some reason, absolutely everyone felt they had to wade in.”
As THR notes, British viewers noticed the cuts and blasted Sky for the edits. If folks are tuning in to watch John Oliver, they know what kind of material to expect.
“Where can I watch the segment on the Queen from @LastWeekTonight considering Sky decided to cut it?” one viewer tweeted. Another wrote, “Don’t censor my @LastWeekTonight. I am British, I am a monarchist and I CAN TAKE A JOKE!!!”
Sky did not respond to requests for comments nor did HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which is understandable given everything going on over there.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)