John Oliver Was Booed At A 'Sesame Street' Gala

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 24, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 24, 2023 |

A friend of mine may or may not be working on a Sesame Street property right now. The guidelines are strict. Sesame Street is protective of its characters. They aren’t as protective as Disney (I don’t think). The company has a brand, and they want to stick to it. I think it can even be situational. I’ve seen Elmo be a little smartie pants to late-night guests. Where he wouldn’t do that is at a gala where Sesame Street is trying to earn money to feed its monsters. John Oliver learned that the hard way.

The eponymous host of Last Week Tonight (I’m genuinely curious how many times I’ve written that sentence in the last three years) stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers. The friends were clad in some cozy-looking sweaters. Seriously. It’s not the point of the post, but I was immediately struck by these two dads sitting comfortably in their long-sleeved fallwear. Who wears the sweater better? That’s for you to decide.

While they chatted about Oliver’s parents expressing their striking apathy toward him, John brought up a Sesame Street gala he hosted. He hosts it often, as he is a big supporter of their work and their message. Despite that, he was booed at one of the galas. Oliver was listening to a Bank of America executive emphasize the kindness of her company. Oliver let that slide until she brought it up several more times. He followed that executive by highlighting Bank of America’s high foreclosure rate. He was then booed.

While that may not be on brand for Sesame Street, it is certainly on brand for Oliver. He has made a career out of speaking truth directly to Power’s face. I was reminded recently of his bout with Dustin Hoffman, and this story feels very similar. Oliver uses his platform to let people know when they are full of shit. That’s great, even if it does make Bert blush.