Last Week Tonight host John Oliver received the win for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series at the 2024 Emmy Awards. He thanked HBO for not canceling him, his team, and his family (where he embarrassingly fumbled over his son’s name). But then he closed out his speech with a tribute to his fur family member: His rescued Golden Retriever named Hoagie who recently passed away.
Oliver started his tribute with, “In particular, I want to thank the silly odd dog. We have the most fantastic dog, and she was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us for two pregnancies…” Then orchestral music started playing, in an attempt to cut his speech short. Clearly dismayed that the award producers didn’t think a tribute to his late pup’s memory was worth anyone’s time, Oliver continued with, “Perfect choice of music. We had to say goodbye to her. It is I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now. She was an amazing dog.” And after a brief pause, he pointed at the cameras and said, “Fuck you! There you go!” Now energized by the approving crowd of celebrities, he went on to thank all dogs, saying, “She was an amazing dog and uh, ouch, and I guess this isn’t just for her, this is for all dogs. All dogs – you’re very good girls, you’re very good boys, you all deserve a treat! Play me off now!” Which drew a roaring cheer from the audience.
Oliver adopted Hoagie in 2012 and admitted to Vanity Fair in 2015 that she was his very first dog. While an incredibly important member of his family, he very rarely shared any photos of Hoagie (yes, named after his favorite sandwich).
This is my official account. To prove it's really me, here's a photo of my dog holding up today's newspaper. pic.twitter.com/rDPFsrix
— John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) July 20, 2012
His speech very notably ended with a shot of Jon Stewart clapping and raising his fist. Not only because of their long history together – but also the history of loving rescue dogs.
Back in February, Jon Stewart went viral for his tearful tribute to Dipper, his 3-legged rescue pitbull. He included mention of the shelter that saved Dipper, which resulted in over $35,000 in donations in three days!
