Settle in, because Last Week Tonight has followed up that sex ed video starring Laverne Cox and other celebs with a long segment trolling the hell out of televangelists.
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Oliver was clear he was not criticizing all religion, just televangelists who use people’s faith to take their money and create their own massive, personal wealth.
The stunt, which came at the end of a 20-minute dissertation on the disturbing ways in which televangelists extract “seed” money from their faithful followers, is clearly reminiscent of Colbert Super PAC, the 501(c)(4) organization set up Stephen Colbert to test the absurd limits of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Kenneth Copeland called the jet a “preaching machine” and then used it to go hunting with his son.
“Think about that”, an incredulous Oliver said.
Oliver called the process of setting up his own church “disturbingly easy”, using a tax lawyer and the official IRS guidelines to make sure they were following the admittedly “vague” legal parameters. Or, in one particularly horrific case, asking someone to “sow” money into a church instead of seeking treatment for cancer.
“You know what? I kept that one dollar bill because fuck him”, Oliver confessed.
Intrigued by this scam, Oliver looked up the IRS definition of a tax-exempt church and established his own, which he has dubbed Our Lady Of Perpetual Exemption: You can check out John’s new church here.
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Appearing with “Sister Wanda Jo Oliver” (Rachel Dratch of “SNL” fame), Oliver asked viewers to chip in for his new church. These televangelists preach that you can buy your way into God’s favor, tax free. The couple basically asked for money from viewers, which can be donated through Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption’s website and the toll-free number 1-800-THIS-IS-LEGAL, both of which actually exist. He says he is “dedicated to collecting copious donations and all manners of divine blessings, but mainly the donations”.
