John Oliver on Sunday night became the first late-show host to use his platform to call out Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, although allegations of Weinstein's sexual harassment were revealed last Thursday.
On Oliver's HBO show "Last Week Tonight," the comedian discussed the New York Times article about Weinstein's decades of harassment allegations and settlements before he called Weinstein's response "infuriating."
"His response was infuriating because he and his attorneys admitted he needs help while also denying the charges and threatening to sue the Times," Oliver said before playing a news clip of a statement from Weinstein.
"I came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different," Weinstein's statement said. "That was the culture then."
Oliver then mentioned a particularly lurid story about Weinstein before proceeding to crack a joke about it, the Daily Beast reports:
"Yeah, you’re right: Your excuse isn’t an excuse," fired back Oliver. "In fact, it isn’t even an excuse for that behavior in the ’60s: ‘Well, back then we had no idea that women didn’t want to be forced to look at dicks! That wasn’t discovered by scientists until 1998. It was a different time.’"
Oliver then brought up a claim made in the wake of the Times piece by TV reporter Lauren Sivan, who alleged that Weinstein exposed himself to her in his restaurant before masturbating into a potted plant.
"And new stories are now coming out, including an allegation from one local news reporter that Weinstein ‘trapped [her] in the hallway of the restaurant,’ tried to kiss her, and when she refused, he ‘proceeded to expose himself’ before ejaculating quickly into a potted plant. So, step aside, Chocolat: You are no longer the most horrifying picture that Harvey Weinstein has ever produced," cracked Oliver.
Network late-night show hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, have not mentioned anything about the accusations against Weinstein; Comedy Central's Trevor Noah made a passing reference to the controversy last week.
Additionally, NBC's "Saturday Night Live" reportedly cut a skit about Weinstein before their show was filmed on Saturday.
Weinstein is a Democratic mega-donor who has hosted fundraisers for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Democrats have been pressured to return or donate his contributions since reports of his behavior came to light.