Pay TV giant Sky, owned by Comcast, made some jokes about the death of Queen Elizabeth II from the latest episode of Last week tonight with John Oliver in the United Kingdom
Some viewers commented or complained about the HBO show’s edits on social media. “Where can I watch the clip about the queen from @LastWeekTonight since Sky decided to cut it?” one wrote on Twitter. Another said: “Censor my @LastWeekTonight. I’m British, I’m a monarchist and I CAN JOKE!!!”
Oliver made jokes about paying tribute to the late queen from companies like Domino’s Pizza and cartoon characters Crazy Frog, among other things. “Clearly we have to start with the UK, which is clearly still reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes,” the host said. “It’s a big moment [of] the week, and for some reason absolutely everyone felt like they had to wade in.
Oliver also joked that the monarch’s death was “not the only traumatic event Britain has faced”, pointing to the appointment of Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
Representatives of Sky and HBO parent Warner Bros. Discovery were not immediately available for comment.
Last week tonight Of John Oliver won its seventh late-night Emmy in a row in the Outstanding Variety Talk category Monday night. At the Emmys, HBO topped Netflix for the most awards.
Here’s a look at some of the social media reactions to Sky taking down queen-related jokes.