John Oliver Follows a Turkmen Dictator Down a Bizarre Rabbit Hole in Latest Last Week Tonight
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John Oliver examines the thin line between “horse fanatic” and “wacky authoritarian dictator” in this week’s edition of Last Week Tonight. Recent rumors surrounding the Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s death spurred on (pun fully intended) Oliver’s in-depth analysis of the leader’s unhealthy equine obsession. The comic also manages to throw in some absolutely savage criticism of the Guinness World Records before episode’s end. Don’t worry; we’ll get there. As Oliver promises:
In 20 minutes, you’re not so much going to be wondering why we’re talking about Turkmenistan as why we’d ever talk about anything else ever again.
Things get weird right out of the gate—okay, that’s the last horse pun—with Oliver’s look at the autocrat’s penchant for shows of physical prowess. See how strong Berdi is, bench pressing without any actual weights. Be wowed by Berdi’s impressive ability to shred on guitar while completely enveloped in stage fog. Like any dictator worth his salt, the man is devoted to narcissism and self-aggrandizement.
But Oliver spends much of the episode on Berdi’s, shall we say, unusually strong appreciation of horses. Seriously, the man loves horses. “Like the incorrect amount,” Oliver notes. He gifts Turkmen horses to world leaders. He’s written multiple books on the hooved animals, one of which Oliver snagged a copy of on Amazon. And the comic’s favorite passage is a doozy: