John Oliver Pays Tribute To His Late Dog At Emmys 2024: ‘We Had To Say Goodbye To Her'

At the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, comedian John Oliver won Outstanding Scripted Variety Series for his HBO show Last Week Tonight for the second consecutive year, surpassing NBC’s Saturday Night Live. During his acceptance speech, Oliver expressed gratitude to his team and family, and the moment took a poignant turn when he honoured his recently deceased dog.

During his acceptance speech at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15, Oliver brought extra laughs when he said, “I also want to thank, maybe silly, our dog. We had the most fantastic dog, and she was at our wedding, and she got us through a pandemic. She was with us, two pregnancies.” As he was continuing his speech, a piece of sad music started playing, and responding to it, the comedian added, “Perfect choice of music. We had to say goodbye to her.”

Further, he cursed, “F–k you,” while humorously adding, “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now.” McLachlan is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is popular for her tear-jerking commercials for the ASPCA. Oliver continued his speech, “She was an amazing dog. Ouch. This isn’t just for her — this is for all dogs. You’re all very good girls. You’re very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now. Thanks so much.”

Before paying tribute to his dog, the comedian also thanked the team of Last Week Tonight by saying, “Thank you so much. Thank you to my staff. Some of them are here, and others are in Brooklyn. Whether they’re watching this, I know they are in Brooklyn. I hope you’re having fun. I’d particularly like to thank Liz Stanton and Tim Carvell. I’d like to say thank you to HBO for not cancelling us over the last decade, that was never a guarantee, I appreciate it, please carry on.”

Oliver also extended his thanks to his wife, Kate Norley, and their children. He brought smiles to the audience when he humorously mispronounced his son’s name, saying, “I’d like to thank my wife, Kate and our kids, husband — ‘husband’ — Hudson, his name is Hudson. Ouch. That’s gonna come back to haunt me.”

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has been airing on HBO since 2014 and has accumulated an impressive 30 Emmys out of 67 nominations. The recent win marks the show’s ninth consecutive victory in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category. Prior to this, Oliver’s HBO series won seven Emmys for Best Variety Talk Series before transitioning to the scripted variety format.