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The Year’s best John Oliver Takedowns

The Year’s best John Oliver Takedowns

No nefarious institution is safe while the British-born host of Last Week Tonight is on air. This year, John Oliver took on everything from the sugar industry to payday loans to prosperity gospel preachers. He’s a comedian, but he’s also one of the clearest cultural critics out there. Yes, his segments usually come peppered with strong language and edgy punchlines, but they always deliver cringe-inducing truth. Here are three of the late-night host’s most important takedowns from 2015:

Prosperity gospel preachers
“Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland and other pastors of their ilk have been taking advantage of the open-ended IRS definition of the word ‘church’ and procuring a litany of tax breaks.”

State-sponsored lotteries
“Lotteries are bad for losers, often bad for winners and a pretty compromising way to assist state budgets. … It would be a little strange if the state was in the liquor business [and was] advertising it by claiming that every shot of vodka you drink helps school children learn.”

Immigration visas
“Those like me and most Americans who would like some kind of immigration reform have our voices drowned out by … a lot of opinions unsupported by documentation. Let’s call them undocumented opinions.”

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