John Oliver’s new season of Last Week Tonight on HBO started with a million-dollar offer to Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. During the season 11 premiere of the late-night talk show, Oliver said that the US Supreme Court has reached “a breaking point.” He further spoke about several ways it could be fixed like “enforceable ethics codes, to term limits, to potentially expanding the court.”
The hosts had previously mentioned that Thomas had not recused himself from taking on cases where there was a conflict of interest or where he may have received gifts from special interest groups.
“If we’re going to keep the bar of accountability this low, perhaps it’s time to exploit that low bar the same way billionaires have successfully done for decades,” Oliver said.
He continued, “Clarance Thomas is arguably the most consequential Justice on the court right now and he’s never really seemed to like the job. He said, ‘It’s not worth doing for the grief.’ So what if he can keep the luxury perks he clearly enjoys without having to endure all of that grief.”
Oliver went on to make Thomas “a special offer,” which included “one million dollars a year for the rest of your life if you simply agree to leave the Supreme Court immediately and never come back.”
To show how serious he was, the comedian displayed a contract and assured viewers that he wasn’t joking about the offer.
“If you watch our show, you know jokes aren’t really our thing,” Oliver added. “This is real. A million dollars a year until you or I die.”
Oliver said that he had spoken to legal experts, who told him that he wasn’t breaking any laws and said “HBO is not putting up the money for this. I am personally on the hook. You can make me really regret this. I could be doing standup tours to pay for your retirement for years.”
“This offer is not forever,” Oliver continued. “You have exactly 30 days from midnight tonight to make your resignation effective.”
To persuade Thomas into signing the contract, Oliver sweetened the deal by presenting him with a luxurious, state-of-the-art motorcoach valued at $2.4 million. The motorcoach boasts a spacious bedroom featuring a king-size bed, one and a half baths, a cozy fireplace, four TVs, a convenient washer/dryer, and a generous residential-size fridge.
“So that’s the offer. A million dollars a year and a brand new condo on wheels and all you have to do in return is sign the contract and get the f*** off the Supreme Court,” Oliver said at the end.
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