John Oliver Calls Out the Academy for Counting Polanski, Cosby, and Casey Affleck as Members

Last Sunday, John Oliver became the first late-night host to take on the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against the influential film executive Harvey Weinstein.

The Emmy-winning Last Week Tonight host mocked Weinstein’s initial outrageous “apology,” wherein the since-fired Weinstein Company co-chief invoked ’60s culture, a fake JAY-Z quote, the NRA, and his own bar mitzvah.

Since then, dozens of other actresses have come forward leveling allegations against Weinstein ranging from sexual harassment to rape, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan, and Asia Argento. Weinstein claims that he never engaged in “non-consensual sex” with any of his 30-plus accusers.

Oliver began this week’s edition of his HBO program by addressing “more horrifying details concerning Harvey Weinstein” and how “It’s not just his behavior that was troubling, it’s the way that people around him excused it.”

The comedian then threw to a clip of actress Angie Everhart, who told TMZ that Weinstein entered her yacht cabin during the Venice Film Festival while she was sleeping and proceeded to masturbate in front of her—all while blocking the door. 

“I told people on the boat, I told people at the dinner I was at, and everybody was like, ‘Oh, that’s just Harvey,’” said Everhart.

Oliver was beside himself. “What the fuck?! So everyone knew and they just went with it? ‘Oh yeah, Harvey’s going to burst into your room and masturbate. That’s just Harvey. He’s like a sex-criminal version of the Kool-Aid Man,’” cracked the Brit.

He continued, “While most now have condemned Weinstein’s behavior, incredibly, some initially tried to defend him—from Oliver Stone, whose first response was ‘it’s not easy what he’s going through,’ to longtime friend Donna Karan, who took an incredible tack.”

Cut to the fashion designer Karan, who appeared to blame the victims for Weinstein’s predatory behavior. “How do we display ourselves? How do we present ourselves as women? What are we asking? Are we asking for it?” offered Karan. “It’s not Harvey Weinstein. You look at everything all over the world today, you know, and how women are dressing and what they’re asking by just presenting themselves the way they do.”

“Excuse me? One, that is absolutely appalling, and two, how would Donna Karan know how women are dressing right now? It’s not 1993,” Oliver joked.

Both Stone and Karan eventually apologized for their gross proclamations, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—Weinstein was known as an Oscar kingmaker—chose to expel the studio co-chief, stating, “…the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over.”

“Yes, finally!” Oliver sarcastically exclaimed. “The group that counts among its current members Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby, and Mel Gibson has found the one guy who treated women badly and kicked him out. So congratulations, Hollywood! See you at the next Oscars where—and this is true—Casey Affleck will be presenting Best Actress.”

For more on Casey Affleck, read here.