In the grand tradition of British romantic comedies, John Oliver took a moment on Sunday to tell Scotland, "I'm just a boy, standing in front of a nation, asking it to continue tolerating me."
On Sept. 18, the Scottish people will vote "Yes" or "No" on a referendum that asks, "Should Scotland be an independent country?" and, at the moment, it would seem the vote could go either way.
In light of that, Oliver used the main story on "Last Week Tonight" to educate his American audience on the vote and Scotland itself, since, as Oliver explained, "Americans know it as the birthplace of Shrek, and that accent you think you can do but actually can't."
The segment outlined the arguments of both sides, with a particular focus on the distaste Scottish people have for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, a wealthy, Oxford-educated Tory. "He embodies all the things I hate most about England and I'm English," Oliver sympathized. "In fact, let me show you what an asshole David Cameron is," he went on before rolling a clip of the PM roundly dismissing a question from Scottish National Party Member of Parliament Angus MacNeil.
20 Years Of Free Journalism
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
For two decades, HuffPost has brought you the exclusives, scoops and hot takes on the news all your friends are talking about. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
20 Years Of Free Journalism
For two decades, HuffPost has brought you the exclusives, scoops and hot takes on the news all your friends are talking about. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
All that aside, Oliver still wanted Scotland to know how much the U.K. wants to keep her, so he brought out the big guns: bagpipes, haggis, a unicorn and "Love Actually"-inspired posters.
"Last Week Tonight" airs Sunday at 11:00 p.m. ET on HBO.
