It didn’t take long for WWE to respond to John Oliver’s segment about the wrestling company’s ridiculous employment practices. WWE sent out a statement this afternoon claiming to have refuted Oliver’s arguments to one of the show’s producers before the episode aired, and that Oliver’s team failed to use any of that information in the Last Week Tonight segment.
And then WWE invited the comedian to WrestleMania this upcoming Sunday.
If Oliver somehow accepts that invitation—which, to be frank, makes WWE look petty and out-of-touch, and also serves to only prolong the attention Oliver’s segment is getting—he’d be the third prominent comedian to show up at WrestleMania this year. Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost and Michael Che will both be at WrestleMania, competing in the show’s annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. It might be a little telling that, while Oliver is helping to bring more attention to WWE’s onerous, labor-unfriendly contracts, Weekend Update’s hosts are blithely playing along in a bit that wrestling fans have largely rejected so far.
Here’s WWE’s statement about Oliver’s show in full. Paste has asked WWE if we could see the information they shared with Oliver that refutes his points, and are waiting for a response.
John Oliver is clearly a clever and humorous entertainer, however the subject matter covered in his WWE segment is no laughing matter. Prior to airing, WWE responded to his producers refuting every point in his one-sided presentation. John Oliver simply ignored the facts.
The health and wellness of our performers is the single most important aspect of our business, and we have a comprehensive, longstanding Talent Wellness program.
We invite John Oliver to attend WrestleMania this Sunday to learn more about our company.