It turns out, Danbury was mostly joking when they vowed last month to name their $110 million sewage treatment plant after John Oliver, following a Last Week Tonight segment in which the host jokingly shit-talked the Connecticut town voted 2015’s second nicest place to live in the United States, “It’s full of crap, just like you, John,†Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton declared on Facebook. However, until the town makes it official, John Oliver is lightly holding $55,000 in charity donations for ransom, telling Danbury he would give it to another Connecticut town if Danbury doesn’t come through with the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant. “Don’t Danbury this up,†he warned. Now, in the saga’s latest installment, Mayor Boughton has agreed to name the plant for Oliver after all…under one condition.
“You must come here to Danbury and be physically present when we cut the ribbon,†the mayor declared in a Facebook video posted Sunday. “And I gotta tell you, $55,000 is a little light for someone in the one percent, but a deal is a deal. Now, look, don’t Oliver this up. Should you choose not to take us up on this offer, well, I gotta tell you: I’m already talking to the two Jimmys and to Noah.â€
All of which would be an adorable bit of we weren’t still in the middle of a pandemic. You can’t demand someone get on a plane and fly from coast-to-coast if they don’t absolutely have to! Fortunately, if John Oliver can’t make the trip, Danbury has graciously offered him a second-place prize: a Porta Potty named The “John†Oliver Shit House.
Update, Thursday, October 8, 11:30 p.m.: So, it looks like John Oliver is getting that sewage plant after all. WTNH News 8 reported that the Danbury City Council has voted overwhelmingly to rename their sewage plant after Oliver. “Congratulations, Mr. Oliver, you now have a poop plant named after you,†said Danbury Mayor Mark Burghton after the city council voted to rename the city’s water treatment plant after Oliver, turning a late night television bit into reality. The council voted 18 yay, 1 nay, 1 abstention, which begs the question who was the one person on Danbury’s city council who didn’t want to name their sewage plant after John Oliver? Here’s hoping Oliver can make it to the renaming ceremony in-person, so that he can confront that council member face to face.