John Oliver began his June 12 edition of Last Week Tonight on a serious note, as he paid tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting.
“As I’m sure you know by now, at least 50 people were killed by a gunman at a gay nightclub in what is being described as a terrorist attack. And look, it’s still early and details are still emerging, and right now, this just hurts,” Oliver, 39, said. “And the worst thing is, this pain is so familiar. In Paris last November, terrorists seemed to target places that symbolize everything that is wonderful about France — culture, music, restaurants. And in Orlando early this morning, a gunman attacked a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world. And for the record, I will happily embrace a Latin night at a gay club in the theme park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”
The British host went on to apologize for taping the HBO comedy show after the attack, which killed 50 people and injured 53 others.
“It’s hard to even know what to do in the wake of an event like this,” he continued. “We do have a comedy show for you. We’ll begin it in a minute with what will seem like jarringly inappropriate jangly music, and I’m sure there will be much more to say about Orlando going forward, but for right now, on a day when some dips‑‑t terrorist wants us to focus on one man’s act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video, which was posted to Twitter today.”
In the video, hundreds of supporters could be seen donating blood to those who were injured. (Sexually active gay men are still not allowed to give blood.) “It shows hundreds and hundreds of people this morning lining up around the block in Florida waiting to donate blood,” he said. “And it kind of reminds you that that terrorist dips‑‑t is vastly outnumbered.”
As previously reported, a 29-year-old gunman named Omar Mateen pledged his allegiance to ISIS in a phone call to 911 just moments before attacking people at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday morning. A GoFundMe page started by Equality Florida, the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, has already raised more than $1 million for the victims.
Watch Oliver’s tribute in the video above.
