Popular American Satirical Show Laughed at Lukashenka’s Haircut

The comedians also launched an action in support of Belarus.

The new episode of the American evening show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, broadcast on HBO, is almost entirely devoted to the situation in Belarus. The host of the program, John Oliver, spoke about the history of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's coming to power and the political crisis in Belarus, and, in the end, he suggested that viewers buy teddy bears to support the independent press and human rights organizations in Belarus, writes zerkalo.io.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is a popular evening show that has been aired on HBO since 2014. The host of the program is John Oliver, a famous British comedian, writer, actor, and TV presenter. The episodes of the show are published once a week, and they satirically cover the latest news, American and world politics.

The main topic of the latest episode of the show was the situation in Belarus. Announcing the episode, the presenter joked that he had to learn a little geography in preparation. The story about Belarus began with a description of the protests and political crisis that began in the country in 2020. The show calls a disdainful attitude towards the coronavirus one of what happened, citing Aliaksandr Lukashenka saying to the journalist after the hockey match: “There are no viruses here.”

John Oliver recalls the story with Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and the Ryanair plane landing in Minsk. The show also tells about the history of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's rise to power in the 1990s.

Part of the episode is devoted to the history of repression against the media, which, according to the editors of the show, is organized by Lukashenka. Thus, the story of the end of 1994 with "white stripes" and the fact that Belarus was recognized by the organization "Reporters without Borders" as the most dangerous country in Europe for journalists is cited.

The show also jokes about Lukashenka's unusual hairstyle. “It looks like he has grown his left burnside into a rat tail and then shellacked it into his bare scalp,” comments the presenter.

“Over the years, he has made statements like 'It's better to be a dictator than gay' and 'not everything bad in German history was associated with the famous Adolf Hitler,'" says host John Oliver. "He probably took the expression 'devil's advocate' a bit literal." Lukashenka’s statement that “the whole world bows to the Jews” is also cited.

A separate emphasis in the show is made on two episodes with plush toys: bears dropped by Swedish citizens from an airplane in one of the districts of Minsk in 2012 and Pavel Vinogradov's action in the same year with plush toys holding protest posters. “This is the sweetest act of civil disobedience I have ever seen,” says the host.

Returning to the topic of the current agenda, the show told about the sentences handed down to Maryja Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak, the history of Siarhei Tsikhanouski and his wife Sviatlana.

“There is one small way we can help Belarusians,” John Oliver said at the end of the show. "And if you don't help, then at least make Lukashenka angry... <...> These are teddy bears. Look, they have everything that he is not: they are cute, lovable, and are covered with thick natural hair."

The show has prepared special teddy bears, which it offers to purchase on the website belarusbearforce.com for $ 20. All the proceeds are promised to be donated to organizations that fight for press freedom and human rights in Belarus.

“Please, buy these bears, and not only for Belarusians, but also for me: we bought 10 thousand of these bears, and if we don’t get rid of them, I’m in real shit,” Oliver said.