John Oliver Torches ‘Hall of Fame S–y Response’ From Tennessee Lawmaker on Racism, Gun Violence: ‘Definitely Lying’
In the weeks following the mass shooting that killed six people — three of which were children — at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, protests have sprung up from both voters and politicians over gun violence. But they’ve been largely met with anger or indifference from the state’s legislature, as John Oliver pointed out on Sunday night’s “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, calling one response “hall of fame sh—y.”
Oliver kicked off his Easter Sunday show with the segment, first calling out Republican Rep. William Lamberth for being snide with young voters who confronted him on gun reform. In a clip of Lamberth’s response, the Republican asked the people which weapon they’d rather be shot with.
“You’re not going to like my answer, and look, I’m going to say that straight up,” Lamberth said. “It’s not about this one gun. If there is a firearm out there that you’re comfortable being shot with, please show me which one it is.”
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“I mean that is a Hall of Fame sh—y response,” Oliver fired back. “But also, if your opener is, ‘You’re not gonna like my answer,’ maybe start thinking of some better ones. And for the record, I don’t want to be shot by any guns. I don’t even want to get shot by a Nerf gun.”
As the segment continued, Oliver then turned his ire onto Lamberth’s explanation for why the House expelled two Black members on Thursday, after those members tried to advocate for gun control alongside a third member — a white woman, who was not expelled.
Earlier last week, Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson interrupted debate on the House floor by using a bullhorn to lead a protest. According to their Republican colleagues who voted to expel only Jones and Pearson on Thursday, the reps had brought “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives,” while the House Speaker said they were “inciting violence.”
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But, as Oliver pointed out, House Speaker Cameron Sexton didn’t actually have any evidence that the trio was inciting violence. When pressed on it by a local reporter, Sexton said, “I mean, you can’t prove that.”
Meanwhile, Lamberth claimed, “Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members that were up for expulsion,” and Oliver couldn’t help but scoff at that defense.
“OK now, legally, I can’t say that guy is lying — which is why it’s gonna be an interesting day for our lawyers tomorrow, when they find out that I said that guy is definitely lying,” Oliver mocked. “‘We literally don’t even see color’ is the universal tell for people who spend all day thinking about how they’d like to see less color.”
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” airs on Sundays on HBO.
