Robocalls: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Robocalls are a growing problem. If only we could make the FCC care a little bit more about fixing it.
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[@jakemarsing2615]

“I am a real person” (laughs) That’s the scariest shit I’ve ever heard.

[@kurtisrinker1202]

Agreed. WTF couldn't she just say what he asked her to say? Fucking creepy.

[@OtakuD50]

Now imagine it voiced by Tommy Wiseau.

[@Shuizid]

More like: [creepy 2second pause] (laughs) "I am a live person."

[@tarvisantabusta]

Btw, is that legal in the U.S.? Because ..that's an outright lie. I'm glad these robocallers are not a thing here where I live, but even if they were, they'd soon be banned, at least after the first lie they spout.

[@mmcat2863]

@@kurtisrinker1202 because that was not a real person? I bet, just like Siri, that was a scripted answer

[@Bzuhl]

"Hey Tom, could we set up robocalling to spam the fcc? We have a 5000$ budget. - It would take 15min and 10$ a month. - f**k, what are we to do with the rest of the money, build a giant finger to give them?"

[@vinitsinha1191]

This comment is really underrated.

[@JulianCommodus]

They should have pressed it with the middle one.

[@ryanjapan3113]

I hope that’s true, cause if they have $5,000 for the robocalls, they could keep going for 41 years and 8 months.

[@cpanw]

Fun (but not real) fact: they were also planning to build a giant middle finger too.

[@tobiasreaper3650]

When I saw that my first thought was: Carefully, he's a hero

[@makareone]

The " say I am not a robot" call reminded me of when I was calling for a state health study and this guy would NOT believe I was NOT a robot. I insisted I wasn't a robot and he insisted that I was. Finally, I said, "Sir, I am NOT a robot." and he shouted, "That's just what a robot would say!" and hung up on me. I went home that night, had a drink, and an existential crisis.

[@MrCmon113]

That's just the story, a robot would tell.

[@ErickStoner]

Me too kid

[@guptageneralstores5243]

Bot detected

[@shnglbot]

@@guptageneralstores5243 Hahaha, I am a real person.

[@evilyoshimaster]

You shoulda just shouted "FUCK SHIT COCK BALLS" Pretty sure no robot would say that

[@karensmith6074]

I'm disappointed the giant finger wasn't the middle finger.

[@thedeadratviolist6654]

Damnit

[@mistermarkeys]

That’s the only thing that would have made this segment better, nay, perfect.

[@bpmomene2737]

Without the go fcc yourself tattoo on it

[@dochatter3638]

Missed the _ultimate_ chance...

[@williambrennan104]

That would be so fetch

[@thinking_visually9286]

The devil works hard, but John Oliver works harder

[@whatisanickname9292]

*and his amazing staff behind him, that makes the whole show possible

[@kaylynn4750]

The devil has minions, John Oliver’s minions are better.

[@ruthv2352]

Yes... He's a Genius 😌🧠👁👁👂 INDEED!

[@BlindSniperLOL]

You mean his staff, Oliver's just a performer

[@Svarthod1]

Amen

[@waleskatorres-toro]

"That's right business daddy, you inherited a problem child... Let's dance" 😄🤣😂

[@debbiedoodiedandi]

John's got business daddy issues, and I'm here for it!

[@kimberlys8422]

_Choke me, daddy_ 🤣🤣🤣

[@TrowaBarton]

the odd part is. even if he bashed AT&T just by saying thier name and showing the logo. they are now refeshed in evoryones mind. and subscriptions i am guessing will be up because of it.

[@stevelutz9089]

Hes the problem child we all should aspire to be 😆😂

[@amirmohamad2270]

@@TrowaBarton exactly what I was thinking, it feels like he has to do it, he has just found a way to make it fun.

[@GyzelE]

The thing that I love most about John is that he isn't all talk. He actually fucks with people that desperately need it.

[@gorkskoal9315]

It's as if he's british and knows how to be just enough of an asshole.

[@SteveS86]

Pretty sure he didn’t actually call these people 16 times a day (if ever).

[@7cubed]

@@SteveS86he absolutely did

[@matthewmuir8884]

Legend says that, even though the calls ended long ago, Ajit Pai still hears them in his head every 90 minutes. The laugh, the pause, the bagpipe music; it all haunts both his nightmares and his waking thoughts.

[@Neoplasie1900]

Just a curios non-US citizen being curious. Did this whole thing achieve something?

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@Neoplasie1900 I don't know. I think it did if I recall correctly. Also, I'm Canadian.

[@ThrottleKitty]

@@Neoplasie1900 While I have no idea how much this specifically helped, the FCC is under new leadership as of recently. I think it was part of the presidential cabinet shift. It hasn't really been long enough to see if things will improve exactly, but at least this specific asshole is out of there.

[@Teethconsumer]

Good.

[@insouciantFox]

That was the plot of a Star Teek: Voyager episode actually.

[@ezekielmartin4323]

His tone on "It's ringing! I think it's for you!" is filled with such gleeful spite. I'm so glad we stole this man from Britain.

[@LizLuvsCupcakes]

They had their chance for Oliver. I deeply appreciate that they wasted it.

[@GreenGrasshoppa]

And he really is ours as he's officially become an American citizen! 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@gamingman2720]

It’s Canada’s turn now hand him over

[@floralrune]

Battle Cat 51 NOOO. not my johnny baby

[@mjnmjn2958]

@@floralrune သိတယ္ fb ခိုးခံရတာ ဖုန္းႏွစ္လုံးဟဲ့

[@LutzHerting]

Meanwhile, in Germany, we had a different approach to that problem: - Step 1 : Making that Robocall bullshit illegal in the first place - Step 2 : Not thinking about it anymore

[@ryanwallace983]

Brilliant, those stupid Americans, how could they not think of banning spam calls...morons Come up with better idea next time my German friend, criminals by their very nature don’t do as the law says Robo-Calling is quite useful when used legitimately, I had a psychiatrist who robocalled clients to remind them of their appt, and I have used a pharmacy that robocalled people to tell them when the prescription was ready Take your European Superiority somewhere it might be appreciated

[@lepurten]

@@ryanwallace983 And yet last time I was called is 3 days ago by someone I knew, and you get called up to 20 times a day by a robot. If one of them is usefull, but you get dozens, none is, because who bothers to check? I'll just continue to feel superior to the US, thanks.

[@ryanwallace983]

lepurten right...bc spam calling isn’t already illegal-hint hint it is you nitwit, the only thing banning robocalling entirely would do is stop the bad behavior from legit companies, such as that poor woman who got 20 calls in a day Most robo calls are scams tho...so tell me how banning robocalls will stop that? Don’t get me wrong, many of the points John brings up are good ones and it shouldn’t be so difficult to stop actual companies from robo calling people The original and your comment are trite and suggest a superiority complex like all Americans are dumb-we aren’t Don’t suggest something stupid and I won’t point out the stupidity

[@Jabberwocky869]

@@ryanwallace983 I am from Germany as well and I have never gotten a robocall in my entire life. If my doctor needs to contact me, they will have their assistant do it personally. If a pharmacy needs to remind me to pick up my medicine, the pharmacist will do it personally. These are people you trust with your health, a little personal communication is within reason. And even if a doctor office or a pharmacy need to hire a new employee for additional tasks, doesn't it just mean more jobs for actual living people? As for big companies, banks and insurances, nowadays they need a written and signed permission to even be allowed to contact you.

[@lepurten]

@@ryanwallace983 im Not saying Americans are dump, I'm saying your political system/ politics is/are more fucked than ours, probably because the EU is younger

[@davidstephens8068]

This aged well after watching the USPS one where he actually sells stamps lmao

[@boss_ikay]

Well said

[@claire5161]

I was just thinking about this

[@SacredMilkOG]

Mmmhmm... support your local post office and buy some stamps. Lol

[@ceciliarevuelta1495]

I also got my stamps. I used one so far 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[@BerylMorgan]

This is some excellent character development from john oliver

[@RedRiotRoss]

would love an update on this i'm losing my mind

[@mitkitty]

We are calling about updating your car warrant- aaaaaaaaugh

[@JimmyJoeBob]

Beep boop! yOu ArE qUaLiFiEd for a home loan on your CaR's WaRrEnTy! Please press 5 to AdD yOuR consciousness to the collective!

[@dorianr4770]

me too!

[@Timmy_T]

I got myself a new phone number and whenever I'm asked to provide my number for free nonsense, I give my old phone number. It helped big time. Phone is nearly silent. Signing up for free crap basically means yeah they can use that number to sell to some marketing company so they can harass you.

[@corporateservants269]

@@Timmy_T Same goes for an old email account.

[@Cool_Story_Bruh]

Watching it live the Moby Dick chapter was on screen, but the upload removed it so the FCC can't just pause it. Thank you John Oliver.

[@PensAndPixelsWendyHJ]

Thanks for explaining that!

[@slurricrasher9923]

I was wondering about that! LOL Fuckin brilliant!

[@wimvanrenterghem5725]

I'd imagine it was a bit faster than the intro to star wars?

[@Vondruke]

They'll probably just pirate it LOL

[@michaelmaage]

That's awesome! Thank you for the explanation

[@alexsilva28]

I picture a bunch of HBO lawyers smoking nervously in a conference room waiting to hear John's next idea for an episode

[@GenesiisDavid]

I'm sure this is legal; I think that's the point. It was so easy to do they could do it to the chairs of the FFC.

[@alexsilva28]

@@GenesiisDavid Yeah that's the point. I meant it more like in general

[@gogoftw]

@@GenesiisDavid the point is that if a company has any info on you they can use it freely unless you opt-out of the service( not only robo calls) and its continuesly made more difficult and confusing for the end user to do so so yes this is very legal at least for now

[@untergehermuc]

But is it really legal? The case he was making that the consumer gave (accidentally) consent to robot calls. Here this fcc persons never gave consent to Last Week Tonight…

[@earthling6388]

@@untergehermuc but... no one gave consent to the ones saying they were from the IRS and they refuse to put in force companies to require call authentication or some other guard

[@sumobowler3790]

gotta love the irony of generations of people who made prank calls in their youth being terrorized by robocalls as adults

[@55belt]

And I'll bring all of my shoes and all of my glasses

[@rbeck425]

I would argue the two things, kids making prank calls and robocall annoyances...🙄😬

[@juliechi6166]

Poor Prince Edward.

[@eliasmg9144]

If that's the case then what's gen z punishment?

[@appalachiabrauchfrau]

@@eliasmg9144 growing up not knowing a world without social media and that your potential fuck ups are eternal and available to be viewed by anyone from anywhere. My shitty home movies my friends and I made as kids are stuck in an 8 track, thank god.

[@rosacummings1967]

"you like that business daddy? Johnny's acting up again" lmfao

[@Ace-1525]

In another life, John would have made a phenomenal super villain.

[@weiminacity1406]

Ace The British accent alone qualifies.

[@robertnett9793]

Don't be impatient. You know the saying: Die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. I bet in ten years time from now, he sits in office meetings on extra long tables, stroking a whit cat, while dumping ex-managers to their fiery demise per big red button :D

[@weirdoholla879]

Doofenjohn

[@PaleGhost69]

@@robertnett9793 It would be amazing if he did a skit in referencing this comment. I remember him bringing up a youtube comment from a year ago but idk if it was real.

[@NekoMouser]

Thanks to the multiple universe interpretation of quantum mechanics, we can all take solace in knowing that some where, in some universe, he IS a world-renown supervillian!

[@parasocialyte]

I love this petty man and all of his petty antics so goddamn much

[@jatilq]

..........................cool!

[@parasocialyte]

@@jatilq thanks man, I think so too!

[@messman10]

Oh... I don't think 1,000 protestors are as effective as one comedian intent on trolling! And here I thought Jeff was brilliant!

[@ghostofsparta6877]

*Johnny's acting up again*

[@jademers88]

same he gives me the goosies :)

[@rossvegas1346]

John Oliver and his team are the definition of chaotic good

[@gennybaratta2460]

Robocalls are so frustrating when you’re looking for a job. Your phone goes off: is it a job interview? Or a robocall? Sometimes a robocall happens while your actively setting up your interview

[@dorianr4770]

yes!

[@shubhamkumbhar7431]

Yeah bro 😭

[@nubreed13]

Got called by a MLM life insurance scam while I was waiting for a call from my union rep. I hate that I basically can never answer my phone if I don't know who it is since every call is a scam now.

[@mechengr1731]

Yep, before I got my current job, I almost cried in frustration after getting a robocall bc I was sick of getting ghosted by jobs

[@LincolnWiseDidMyMom]

I firmly believe John Oliver is the most powerfully chaotic neutral human being on our planet.

[@armilopez9735]

I almost chocked laughing at this. I love you. XD

[@armandandrade9803]

Lincoln Wise Yo fuk off he’s chaotic good :)

[@johness5425]

Neutral Good.

[@lock376]

Neutral or lawful good, he obviously believes in law and order. He just also believes in a minimum amount of personal freedom. He wouldn't talk about half the stuff he does If he was chaotic. That or alignments are bullshit and its impossible to boil someone's values to two words

[@kuhj278]

Yeah no

[@Dizarrey]

"We made real progress towards solving a problem, then we blew it." America in a nutshell, right there.

[@JesusBarrancoEscribe]

As a foreigner, who watches US with a mix of interest, admiration, disappointment, and total lack of comprehension, your quote and answer summarizes the way I feel about that country! kudos

[@geraldeder4162]

@@JesusBarrancoEscribe As a European I feel EXACTLY the same way about the US.

[@celieboo]

Ain't that the truth. The Trump presidency is a great example Of that.

[@user-qv2qf1jk5o]

I mean, yeah... Obama to Trump

[@couragekarnga8735]

Especially considering who's president.

[@originpulse4234]

That bit about “never buying stamps” is infinitely more hilarious knowing that he started selling Last Week Tonight stamps in 2020. I mean, it was for a good cause as I remember, but still.

[@DaDunge]

Yeah John Oliver have the amazing ability to admit when he's wrong.

[@OpalMonkey.]

6:52 I've never seen someone facepalm so hard they tore the elbow of their shirt, or tore anything at all, until now.

[@pallimpallum]

Omg. John Oliver literally is an international treasure.

[@ikkkkkkke1]

stop using the word literally wrong. thank you

[@Jkjoannaki]

@@ikkkkkkke1 he costs a lot, so it's used correctly. Plus capitalism has also capitalized human beings

[@parimalpratyush]

A man of words and a man of action. Every single episode.

[@GuardianComplex]

Words such as "Fuck Shit Fuck - Cock Twat - Taint Jizz Shit Tits"

[@parimalpratyush]

I just meant he breaks it down so well in layman's terms that it becomes easy to comprehend. He is going to call them every 90 minutes for a certain time period and might get his point across. U.S has been hit badly with scam calls. I'm from India and feel pretty bad that Indians are responsible for much of it. Good regulation of such calls is needed. Of course, as someone who sheds light on so many topics he can only do so much but believe me, U.S is lucky to have this guy. The best we can expect from our Television media is a round the clock ass kissing of the men in power.

[@DonOmarRamiro]

John: I need a finger. Producer: How big? John: Yes.

[@Gingersnaps_the_pumpkin_kitty]

I'm sorry but that sounds like a sex store porno.

[@heidshows9618]

In case you didn't catch the joke, Susan Collins voted to confirm Kavanaugh.

[@cabbage_patch_child]

@@Gingersnaps_the_pumpkin_kitty Business Daddy *shrugs*

[@zpridgen75]

Those weird, boarded up mailboxes he was talking about are called relay boxes. A letter Carrier traveling on foot can only carry so much mail. Those boxes do not allow you to drop any further mail into them. Instead they are like lockers bolted to the concrete along a mailing path. Trucks deliver mail to those boxes So that the letter Carrier can unlock them, take out the mail and continue making deliveries without having to go back to the Post Office. It's kind of like a a resupply point for on foot letter carriers.

[@nanyubusnis9397]

Ah cool, thanks for explaining. I actually just thought they were relics of the past that are just waiting for the local government to pay enough of them to be properly removed.

[@hughmartell7987]

Does Cliff Clavin know this? lol 🤣

[@emilyrasputin]

Absolutely wild, thanks for this! I've always wondered about them myself

[@AlwaysANemesis]

It gives me so much life whenever John dumps ass on his parent company.

[@madhavmenon3444]

Hoopdy it's more like his asshole step-father than his actual parent

[@alexvega7893]

Doubt it’s without permission.

[@elon6131]

@@alexvega7893 to be more precise, it's probably not explicitly verboten.

[@AntsanParcher]

I don't think they care.

[@johnhbaumgaertner8948]

Suspiciously displays their logo every time.

[@GryffDavid]

The robocaller saying, "There is a live person here", really makes it sound like that robot has a hostage bound and gagged right next to them who could technically still be considered "alive".

[@Neo1the1One]

my thought xD

[@ulalaFrugilega]

Gryffydd David that's what thought. Well no, actually I thought she didn't lie: there probably was a human in the room somewhere, doing maintenance. And she might consider herself a person.

[@Atomsk359]

I think many of the robocalls are people that don't speak English well and the have a soundboard with a number of responses

[@thomasthompson5613]

I'LL PULL THE PLUG!

[@angolin9352]

Most of these robocalls come from India, Pakistan, and nearby countries. At some point, they learned that Americans don't trust their accent, and started using soundboards to hide their national origin.

[@rockerangusyoung623]

There’s just something hilarious about John Oliver saying “Goober” 😂

[@jp4431]

Them: **laughs** I'm a real person Me: **chuckles** I'm in danger

[@jesusdiscipledon1499]

60% of the calls to the FCC are to complain about robocalls. The other 40%.... Robocalls asking for the FCCs moms ssn.

[@WaterxDragon35]

I thought the other 40% is AT&T.

[@MrJuandahero]

saw where this was going, still fell for it anyway. Have an upvote

[@miguelzavaleta1911]

The other 40% are complaints about Ajit Pai.

[@patrickmcdowell4557]

John

[@gedrictudio]

HBO: Here's your budget for the week. John: Thanks, but we're actually done. We only needed (tech guy name here). HBO: Oh, okay. You can still have it. Do what you want with it. John: *creates a large hand and button*

[@elliejohnson3991]

listening to him rant about stamps while looking at the john oliver stamps to my right bc that aged well

[@minervacori]

Ugh I love it when John is EXTRA sassy on the main topic

[@bvedant]

it's cringe

[@pyrosianheir]

It's how you know it's a fun one rather than one that's toooooooo real.

[@blueblade8075]

I work at a relay call center. It's our job to help deaf people process phone calls. When a client calls us and wants us to connect them to someone else, we have to give the receiver of the call a standard introduction, which usually sounds like this: "A person who may be deaf or hard of hearing is calling you through the (state) relay." But thanks to robocalls, there are a lot of times when people think they're getting a robocall from us since we, the operators, are required to adhere to scripted language set up by the FCC. So then they just hang up on us. Sometimes this prevents our clients from being able taking care of important business, like setting up a ride or refilling a prescription.

[@ASMRyouVEGANyet]

That's really upsetting to hear. My mom is deaf and she gets so many robocalls.

[@Chunkboi]

That’s okay, there’s still robotexts, so Deaf and hearing people can be annoyed equally.

[@MagnusSkiptonLLC]

@@Chunkboi Horray! USA! USA! USA!

[@alexmurphy5289]

I strongly believe we can and will get rid of robocalls. They are the 2019 version of pop-ups and will be history hopefully soon. That's really sad though, I appreciate you sharing.

[@Lostmymind1]

@Alex Murphy I believe we CAN......I just don't believe we will. There's too much money to be made for assholes. The first step to getting these killed, is getting Ajit Pai OUT of the FCC. After that, it will be a long uphill battle.

[@Manufan-og1xg]

I never laugh more than when John roasts AT&T.

[@MrPrajitura]

I gotta say, the way Johnny keeps roasting AT&T, I got some respect for them taking it on the chin and going with it, Johns roasts are out of this world

[@nupurvarty]

You like that, business daddy? Johnny's acting up again.. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@squeakbutt]

“You inherited a real problem child” 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@joey7095]

@@squeakbutt hahaha that's the one that had me rollin

[@nupurvarty]

@@joey7095 and the dancing 😍😍

[@OndraZostrova]

It´s actually an advertisment for them, but it´s subtle and funny, so why not :)

[@shaileshrana7165]

I love when he's a ballsy pain in the ass

[@sunnycooper9440]

John truly is Chaotic Good and I love it!!

[@CSDM15]

A scammer called me and I Rick rolled him.

[@emilytalerman3567]

Excellent

[@raomega8]

I work tech/customer support in a call center and I had one guy insist that I was a robot throughout the whole call and that I needed tell him one personal thing about me so that he could believe I was real, now I understand that my "customer service voice" is pleasantly bland but the angry insistence that I wasn't a real person was getting to me particularly since we're not supposed to reveal personal information to callers so I gave him one that I was fairly certain I wouldn't get in trouble for sharing, that I'm a retired marine, he thanked me for my service, stopped asking annoying questions and let me do my job and help him with the question he called me about

[@Rallusernamesunavail]

"you've inherited a problem child..." I'm dying

[@Onigirli]

It's so juvenile but it makes me laugh every time. MAKING TROUBLE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT

[@Lrripper]

@@Onigirli He still works for them. For all you know this jokes was pre approved by at&t

[@bthy384]

@@Lrripper I mean, they really have nothing to gain by letting Oliver go on like this, so I don't see why they would

[@jeremieb.8694]

@@Lrripper hes literally saying how crappy their service is with every joke on every episode. How would that in anyway convince someone to switch or join at&t. So why would at&t want this form of advertising.

[@ocranoccam4177]

@@jeremieb.8694 All publicity is good publicity? It at least gives name recognition. Plus, while he is technically making negative comments, the audience reaction is laughter, so the encoded association might wind up being positive.

[@RandomCrapiFind]

And this is why Last Week Tonight keeps winning Emmy awards.

[@HuevoDuro702]

Because they're part of the establishment!

[@luvdocumentary]

After this, they better get a Nobel Peace Prize

[@HuevoDuro702]

@@luvdocumentary you stupid

[@easley421]

@@HuevoDuro702 'you're', you fucking moron

[@officialtrailers9075]

Jason Michael that’s redundant(Emmy award). I thought you meant it kept winning Emmy...Rossum’s approval.

[@adrielsebastian5216]

Two things that will never die with Johnny O: him mancrushing Adam Driver and giving it to Business Daddy

[@The_real_Arovor]

This, and rhymes about Ted Cruz

[@LadyWhinesalot]

"can you hear me okay?" *NEVER* say yes... They get you to say "YES" into your phone as they are recording you and now they have YOU saying "YES" in YOUR own voice on tape. They can use this to access your technical devices with your own voice giving permission/access to anything with VOICE control/access on it. NEVER say yes

[@hypernovaneedsachillpill7088]

-can you hear me? -no. -[hangs up]

[@ThrottleKitty]

This is why I affect an absurdly exaggerated cockney British accent whenever I'm on the phone, so if they record me it doesn't sound like me.

[@eveninglyric687]

@@ThrottleKitty absolutely brilliant

[@randomtrucks]

me every day: (laughs) I am a real person!

[@tjs200]

oh fuck. They're among us

[@EclecticFruit]

Oh good. It's just, you were looking at me funny for a second there. Whew.

[@redstonecasey4713]

I am a normal meat-person, just like you!

[@r-robertson-d]

Mood

[@AceRasputin]

Mark Zuckerberg?

[@JeddtheJedi]

John Oliver saying "Business daddy" is weirdly erotic.

[@ColoringKaria]

Jedd the Jedi lol! That’s what att gets for buying hbo.

[@genessab]

Jedd the Jedi John Oliver is my business daddy

[@Arigator2]

My phone says the name of some callers is 'Scam Likely'. I heard the phone ring 20 minutes ago who was that? Oh it was Scam Likely.

[@sluttymctits4496]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that, Jedd.

[@messman10]

Almost as erotic as the mustard clip...

[@spegnagmaglorious3590]

Whenever I get those, I pick them up and answer in Spanish Well, one time it was a real person and she asked really kindly if I needed a Spanish translator I felt bad and hung up, and then got another call later in Spanish😬

[@junfukushima6704]

This has to be one of the most beautiful episodes of all. Just beautiful. I love it.

[@Zezeze.]

One thing i really admire about this show is how they do not just inform and complain about certain issues like so many already do, but they actually take action and annoy the shit out of those responsible. And I know for a fact that people will agree to a lot of things just so that their whiny kids will shut up. So yeah, good luck.

[@josephschofield2601]

“Petty” in a good way, right?

[@favvors]

Joseph Schofield petty is neutral sir, it’s how you use it that matters

[@josephschofield2601]

That’s what I am trying to figure out, their usage of it.

[@favvors]

Joseph Schofield I think their usage is very good since it educates AND makes you laugh

[@ibieiniid4240]

@B Davis "Rarely, if ever, used neutrally." You sound very much in touch with pop culture. I'll take your word for it. ::extended fart noise::

[@facepalmdaily4404]

I started getting way, WAY less robocalls when I started telling the scam artists I was dead. I'd wait till they transferred me to an actual live person and tell them, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she passed away a few days ago. I'm just hanging on to her phone for a couple days in case her friends who may not know try to call her." It works like a charm. They actually remove the number from the list. They can't scam money from a dead person.

[@SumoLucas]

Old comment but my latest strategy has been saying “oh, I’m 16” I’m not 16, but for some reason scammers don’t want to sign me up for Medicare when I tell them I’m 16. They usually hang up pretty quickly and stop calling when I tell them that.

[@transsnack]

Ik it's old, but I put on a very bored secretarial voice and say "By continuing this call, you are consenting to being recorded for review by the FTC for screening purposes," followed by a beep. If it's a real person on the other end, they tend to hang up pretty fast and black list the number.

[@cyberlord64]

Back in uni, we were working on an app that would pickup a phonecall without ringing your phone, in the background and apart from checking where the number is calling from and if it was flagged as a spam number, it would also ask random automated simple questions to determine if an actual person is talking. After that the phone would ring. We had a crude prototype but mixed results. Perhaps we should restart the project 🤔

[@TheChaoticAsexual]

As an ex-Walgreens employee, I’ve actually had people call and ask if we have stamps 😂😂😂

[@tristanneal9552]

“AT&T won’t hear you at all unless you call on T mobile. That’s right, you inherited a problem child. Let’s dance.” ... “That man is dead now.”

[@kinga6347]

r/hmmm

[@ThisIsAccountActual]

@@kinga6347 r/wearenotonreddithere

[@boriskyulyumov8853]

He is to powerful even shaggy can't stop him at 100% power..

[@couragekarnga8735]

John Oliver is king! All hale the parrot!

[@tobimakkura]

@@ThisIsAccountActual r/whocares

[@styledbysands]

john oliver coming for AT&T is my new fav thing

[@ismael1989]

Hi, do you know why he is coming for ATT , I think I missed the point or is it random . Thanks you.

[@elogy890]

@@ismael1989 HBO is owned by TimeWarner, which was taken over by AT&T recently.

[@melissahallbauer4623]

@@ismael1989 AT&T bought Time Warner last year and appears to have taken over HBO last week. So they're now his bosses.

[@peregrination3643]

One of these days someone is going to have to make a clip of all his AT&T jokes.

[@jubuttib]

@@ismael1989 And of course in case it wasn't obvious, aside from them being his boss, it's because AT&T sucks balls.

[@suddenlysavannah]

This is on my sleep playlist and I frequently wake up to that I Am A Real Person (Laughs) convo and it’s not not frightening

[@chrispham8705]

"Mom, what's your social security number, real quick?" "No need to talk to me like that, I just asked!"

[@helghastslayah1367]

MARCH 11, 2019. John OLIVER DECLARES WAR ON THE FCC. AGAIN.

[@doncooperjr4817]

Again. Hehehe, I love it.

[@lexzetusko]

He will stop when they decide to not be shit. Only then will he return to Valhalla to feast and slumber until ragnarok, or Tuesday whichever is first

[@laughingjack85]

@cj p You do know that there is a resolution passing through the house that is being voted on to put net neutrality back up. And if you wanted an example then look no further than the Mendocino Wildfire. Do you not watch the news?

[@philliph8991]

@cj p dumb

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

cj p Dude, calm down. It’s a stupid show about a rat-faced Harry Potter bootleg doing stupid shit while adding politics into the mix. I think you care waaaaay too much about this

[@luliby2309]

Not surprised that Ajit Pai is continuing to be a tool. John Oliver, you are a saint.

[@samboujaiteh3331]

The dingo was a better babysitter.

[@xarrik]

@Rogerandi Noire John's not a saint? Ajit Pai isn't a tool? The dingo wasn't a better babysitter? These are are all just blanket true statements especially when you consider Pai was the imbecile to repeal Net Neutrality. John Oliver has pointed out many a problem that people otherwise might not know about making him very saintly as it shines a light on those who act ill toward us and our country.

[@couragekarnga8735]

The best come from England.

[@trence5]

yeah, I had a feeling his name would come up.

[@ryanr1701]

Rogerandi Noire Not being an asshole is not a political bias.

[@chrislive1586]

14:07 omg lolol, i spat out my water. I love when he bashes Business Daddy. I can't believe they let him stay on the air lol "Lets dance!"

[@JBri5678]

Ahhh just watched this after the USPS episode, where he tries to help save the post office with custom stamps 😂

[@schwindsichtigaderechte5293]

To John and all his staff: You are absolutely fantastic!

[@varunsingh6772]

props to HBO as well.... by giving john and his team a nice platform and awesome budget for stuff like giant hands, tv commercials, leather underwear

[@Koop784]

My phone rang when the button was pressed. It was a robocall, but not John Oliver. For a second, I thought that I was a sleeper agent for the FCC and just didn't know it.

[@GimmeADecentUsername]

John you glorious bastard... You, my friend, are without a doubt and by far the best thing any source of media has to offer.

[@elizabethmarshall4494]

This is one of my favorites. This was a spicy jar of hilarity.

[@siddjoshi2053]

*_"That's right, you inherited a problem child. let's dance"_* _I f¢kin love John Oliver_

[@FondestAlloy56]

I get IRS calls... and I'm in Canada

[@mylesgray3470]

Dakota Gerrior The IRS scam may end up calling every cellphone in the world before it’s done. I have about 100 warrants out for my arrest for the taxes I paid last year apparently. I better not cross any borders.

[@FondestAlloy56]

@@shadowfax333 Anime called Quintisential quintuplets (i spelled that wrong) Fan art of one of the characters, Miku, I found on a steam app called 'wallpaper engine'

[@FondestAlloy56]

@@shadowfax333 np

[@EnsignRicky011]

Oh those are fun to screw with! I called them back six times in increasingly ridiculous accents ending with Tommy Wiseau!

[@RandomStranger246]

Me too! 🤦‍♀️

[@rawrnicolebear]

his relationship with at&t reminds me of my relationship with my stepdad.

[@allysajohns5477]

"Ladies and gentlemen, that man ... is a goober." 🤣🤣🤣

[@zacziggarot]

I get calls all the time for lowering my student debt. I never went to college.

[@Beauty_In_Simplicity]

Hahaha!!! You win best comment 👏

[@fosterfuchs]

I get calls about lowering my credit card interest rate. I always pay the balances in full. My interest rate is 0%.

[@lapislazuli06]

No way, I got a law suit....😐

[@kittycat44353]

I always get calls about my car insurance... i don’t have a car

[@cozythembo]

I get those too,,, I'm a freshman in highschool,,

[@npc6817]

I am a real person! Yeah, but can you say "I am not a robot?" *_nervous laughter_*

[@duyguozkann]

I would feel very comfortable if you sad the words "I am not a robot" (LAUGHS) This *is* a real person on the line

[@CRT601]

does that mean that robots are real people?

[@brandonayong7656]

i mean when you take the context out of that situation the guy sounded creepy too lol , like dude take a hint

[@mdeliacloherty]

My gosh it’s been YEARS with multiple years and I still guffawed when he said, “That man… is a goober.”

[@thebestkurootetsuro3460]

"Thats right business daddy you've inherited a problem child"

[@interstellary8473]

*legend says that man is still asking the robot to say "can you please say I am not a robot."*

[@Admiralty86]

(Laughs)

[@AlexVasiluta]

I am a real person

[@johnblunt6693]

*I am a real person*

[@ximaxwellix]

Each time getting more desperate! Already crying and begging for 30 minutes before asking "can you PLEASE say 'I am not a robot?' please... i beg you..." Ask. Die. Repeat.

[@Operation_FUBAR]

It warms my heart to see John using HBO’s money on ridiculous stunts for the greater good.

[@gurglequeen433]

And then he just dumbs millions of raisens on his desk and calls it a day.

[@andymir4469]

John and the team - amazing content as always. A concerned European citizen I want to ask for an update on how this robo-prank play out and what were the consequences. Thank you

[@jayarby8494]

Bout time I should get some sleep..... * new Last Week Tonight piece pops up in my feed * Who needs sleep?

[@MeganNguyenMegaface]

haha me exactlyyyyy

[@wutflex]

Exactly what I just did

[@pandekuri]

Sleep is for the weak

[@brandonayong7656]

i was just waiting tbh

[@joryjones6808]

Same

[@syferpolski4344]

John Oliver - the hero we don't deserve, but have

[@DaDunge]

I disagree John Oliver isn't Batman he's Superman, born far away in a declining civilisation then became an american symbol, stands for truth, justice, and the american way, but for long periods retreats to brood at his fortress of solitude. He's even got glasses like Clark Kent.

[@Spoonicks]

lol my phone got 200+ robocalls a month. It was a large reason why I refused to pick up the phone at all. Most of them were informing me about my car's warranty expiration date (cute, I don't have a car), but some of them were pretty freakin' scary to listen to the voicemail with. Sure, I knew they were robocalls, but when it's 10AM and you're just having a nice breakfast it's pretty startling to get a voicemail that was saying that I was required to go to court because of a federal offense I'd apparently committed and they needed my social security number. Damn guys feckin' CHILL.

[@TheBeraboy]

HBO: "So, you only need money for a medium sized button?" John Oliver: "Yea, no need to overspend this tim..WAIT A MINUTE!"

[@IzzytheMelody]

John Oliver is basically screaming "YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD" still and I love it

[@oopc.2458]

@sebatian nah, it's good publicity. any attention is good attention

[@NadirDbouk]

I love the faces he made this episode. Also "that's right business daddy!"

[@PCBEaR65]

Would rubbing the nipple area when saying that have been too much of a nod to South Park to use??? 🤔😜

[@BikramAgarwal]

"You've inherited a problem child. Let's dance." I was having dinner and almost chocked to death, it made me laugh so hard.

[@shadowgun22]

Anjney Mital Dance business daddy lol

[@bubbleworld4172]

Me too. Here's my favourite: 10:53

[@LucasYounts]

They didn't show the t-mobile symbol when he mentioned them... they left at&t up for a long time... is that because of business daddy?

[@meilaoshi9439]

The ominous ringing over the swelling music at the end is a cinematic masterpiece

[@scottcshadd]

I received a robo call right in the middle of this video. It was timed so perfectly. Thanks for the laugh robo caller!

[@lootbox289]

Business Daddy: John Oliver: *That's right business daddy, you've inherited a problem child, let's dance you and I* Business Daddy: _[BREATHING INTENSIFIES]_

[@pikariocraftf2802]

Who's that man in the at&t suit? Buisiness maaaaaaan Nobody reads the thing Buisiness maaaaaaan He's got a good thing calling..

[@pratikkhadtale]

Whats a business daddy

[@elgaro]

@@pratikkhadtale AT&T owns HBO. You could say it's their business daddy.

[@bubbernub651]

His anger at buying stamps was so real I couldnt even laugh at it. I felt it

[@marcomejia706]

W3wwjkjQuewww2j de 5r d tengas zew

[@theSato]

no @@marcomejia706

[@cyanmcfarlane91]

You can buy stamps online!

[@hdx9820]

hahaha i remember last week episode about trump memos hahah it had the same feeling to it... GOOD TRY MEMOS! ahahha

[@alexcaminiti]

What kind of freak never buys a stamp? Oh, that's right. Someone who has tons of money and assistants. I'm sure his assistants and employees buy plenty of stamps. Excellus BCBS only started accepting credit card payments a few months ago. Yes, in 2018, I had to mail checks to pay for my fucking health insurance. I like John Oliver, but that little bit just proves that he and his writers live in a bubble.

[@KingQwertzlbrmpf]

Meanwhile me in germany i had exactly two robocalls in my entire life. The first one was from the national bureau of statistics and the second was from the robert-koch insititute, both were real people on the other end of the line, both were for the purpose of statistics, both opened with a very polite "do you want to participate in this study?", both ended with "do you want your number erased from our database?"

[@Swordslash]

John's rant about stamps is even funnier when you see the amount of cash-filled letters he sent during the Televangelist episode. Can't imagine how angry that made him.

[@ardentgarden]

Thanks, John Oliver and team, that's absolutely priceless :D

[@SplitSniper7]

Me: Robocalls are so annoying! John Oliver: hold my beer.

[@edu-kt]

John Oliver: Hold my tea!

[@danfred7127]

So not everyone's caught on yet that this "Hold My Beer" meme is cringe, huh? It makes me wince. It's weak. It's Shark Week.

[@ManoredRed]

@@edu-kt Hold my fancy British tea.

[@LadyWhinesalot]

*robocall* me: "Hello, you have just inadvertently reached a crime scene...the RCMP are monitoring this line and will call you back shortly" *hang-up*

[@johnnysun6495]

Hello fellow canadian

[@ranjanbiswas3233]

"I've Been Trying to Reach You about Your Car Extended Warranty" 😁😁

[@pallimpallum]

Watching this from Germany I might ask: wtf is going on America?

[@rahmatdaud3643]

Yeah same.. We dont have this "Robocall" in our country..

[@ericorourke7291]

It is unfuckingbelievable that these comments from outside the US have already solved this problem or have never heard of this. I literally get 20 calls a day of this bullshit. It is so goddamn annoying

[@xdevantx5870]

"Capitalism". In reality the US is increasingly a Corporatocracy.

[@cobracyxx8808]

None of are really sure anymore. It's like a dream that's almost a nightmare so it's just weird and uncomfortable but we're not sure if we're sleeping or not

[@snakezarrr]

Send help.

[@alycejunker]

PLEASE do a follow up episode telling us how the FCC reacted to your robo calls!!!

[@EclecticFruit]

I'm calling it: They blocked the number John was using for the calls within hours and proceeded to dial up Wells Fargo for some much-needed phone sex.

[@EFB57]

I wonder if they found the address in the chapter of Moby Dick. Y'know, 348 W 57th Street, #301, New York, NY 10019.

[@rufen78]

@@EclecticFruit if they set it right, it would change numbers every calls.

[@Nynzy]

John's rant about cancellation was hilarious, and quite true~

[@thbroadway]

16:57 Paragraph 6, line 9/10. They actually put the address there. John Oliver and the team at Last Week Tonight represent an insane level of commitment.

[@johnnysun6495]

To people wondering it's 348 W 57th street #301 New York, NY 10019 proof: imgur.com/a/NS8OFNR

[@NortheastGamer]

"There is a live person here" Just made me think of a robot who cannot lie that has a person tied up in the back so she could satisfy her programming.

[@sith4life375]

You win KZbin, congratulations

[@lumsdelj]

This would make a great fiction story:) Do you write?

[@NortheastGamer]

@@lumsdelj I do sometimes, never posted any of it or anything. Yourself? :)

[@bunzeebear2973]

That was interesting. She could not say "I am not a Robot" when asked 3 times to do that. A real person would do that "Just to see what the smart alex response would be or whatever" sort of like [Is your refrigerator running?...Then go catch it] (Robots do not know what a LIE is.) For it to laugh is also not a known robotic response (that I have come across)

[@Ivy94F]

I jumped on this comment to advise you to make this into fanfiction, just to realize I’m not the first one. Gotta tell u sumpn, right? 😉

[@VasiliyAgiy]

John Oliver is definitely getting nuked when Skynet goes online

[@johnblunt6693]

It would crash on at&t internet

[@johnblunt6693]

@Mr Delta your probably right

[@Szentatyaisten]

If Arby's doesn't get to him first...

[@TEverettReynolds]

Skynet will be smart enough to know that they need a John Oliver to keep the masses entertained... Bread and Circuses...

[@DomInik-od9ym]

(LAUGHS)