John Oliver, who is known for presenting the political talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, spoke frankly about the London Bridge terror attack on his show on Monday, and teased the way American media had covered the news. He also voiced his admiration for the way British people had responded to the attack.
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In his opening monologue, he said: "Obviously our thoughts go out to everyone affected but as a British person living in America I feel compelled to address a certain theme throughout American coverage of this tragedy." The show then played clips of American media, where it was suggested multiple times that Britain was "reeling" and that London was "under siege". Addressing these reports, John said: "Here's the thing. For the record, in no way is Britain under siege. Is it upset? Yes... But to say it's under siege and that its people are reeling implies that its somehow weak enough to be brought to its knees by three monumental [expletives] and that as an idea is insulting."
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He continued: "In fact, British people were so insulted by headlines about Britain reeling, they took to Twitter with the hashtag #ThingsthatleaveBritainreeling," and read out tweets including: "Accidental eye contact on the tube or a lift," and: "When people make tea in the microwave." On a more serious note, he added: "It was an uplifting demonstration of quintessential British defiance because the British people are never going to let terror change their way of life." John also spoke about Richard Angell, a man who returned to a restaurant to pay his bill and tip the staff the following day after fleeing from the scene on Saturday night. Addressing the Londoner, John said: "To you, sir, I say this: cheers."