It’s official. Every time residents of Danbury, Connecticut, flush, they will be sending their special deliveries to the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant.
The City Council voted 18-1 Thursday night to rename the sewage plant after the comedian, who began a tongue-in-cheek battle with Danbury when he went on an expletive-filled rant against the city on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” in August.
Mayor Mark Boughton didn’t waste any time responding on social media. He posted a video of himself at the sewage plant saying the city was going to name it after Oliver.
“Why?” the Republican mayor asked. “Because it’s full of crap just like you, John.”
That drew a delighted response from Oliver, but he went off against the city again because Boughton later said he was just joking.
Oliver upped the stakes on his Aug. 30 show by offering to donate $55,000 to local charities if Danbury actually followed through with renaming the plant.
“I didn’t know that I wanted my name on your (expletive) factory but now that you floated it as an option, it is all that I want,” Oliver said.
Boughton said Friday that the feud has been a good distraction from the coronavirus and other troubles of the times. He also said Oliver’s promised donations have helped spur local fundraising efforts for area food banks that could end up collecting a few hundred thousand dollars to feed needy families.
The mayor added he will be offering tours of the sewer plant for $500 donations to local food pantries.
“I think it’s been a home run. It’s been a lot of fun,” Boughton said of the spat. “If I can put food on people’s table for Thanksgiving by naming a sewer plant after a very popular comedian, we’ll do it all day long.”
Oliver has offered to provide the new sign for the plant that includes his name, as well as attend the ribbon-cutting, Boughton said. A timeline has not been finalized.
Representatives for Oliver and HBO had no immediate comment Friday.
It’s still not clear why Oliver singled out Danbury for a tongue-lashing. He first brought up the city during an August segment on racial disparities in the jury selection process, citing problems in a few Connecticut towns from decades ago. He noted Danbury’s “charming railway museum” and its “historic Hearthstone Castle.”
“I know exactly three things about Danbury,” he said. “USA Today ranked it the second-best city to live in in 2015, it was once the center of the American hat industry and if you’re from there, you have a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver — children included — (expletive) you.”
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.