John Oliver Mourns Dead Dog in Historically Chaotic 2024 Emmys Speech

John Oliver’s 2024 Emmys acceptance speech began as most do — but things took a chaotic turn when he paid tribute to his dead dog.

“Thank you so much. Thank you to my staff, some of them are here. Others are in Brooklyn. I don’t know that they’re watching this, but I know that they are in Brooklyn. Whatever you’re doing, I hope you are having fun,” Oliver, 47, said on Sunday, September 15, while accepting the award for Outstanding Scripted Variety Show.

After thanking HBO for “not canceling” his show, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the comedian gave a sweet shout-out to his wife, Kate Norley.

“I would like to thank my wife, Kate, and our kids, husband — husband? His name is Hudson,” Oliver said. “Ouch. Ouch. That’s gonna come back to haunt me.”

Oliver joked that he should’ve gotten his other son’s name wrong “as well to even it out” before pivoting to the family’s late furry friend.

“I also want to thank our dog, we have the most fantastic dog. She was at our wedding and she got us through two pregnancies and the pandemic — perfect choice of music — we had to say goodbye to her,” Oliver said while he was getting played off the stage. “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now — she was an amazing dog.”

He continued, “This isn’t just for her. This is for all dogs. You’re very good girls, you’re very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off, now!”

Oliver’s show was one of two nominees in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category at the Sunday awards show, which was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (The other was Saturday Night Live.)

Oliver and Norley tied the knot in 2011 and welcomed Hudson and another son in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

Due to the writers and actors strikes, the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards were pushed to January of this year. While both Emmy telecasts took place in 2024, this ceremony is considered the 2024 iteration.

Oliver previously mentioned his wife at the Emmy Awards in January, where Last Week Tonight won two trophies. (The show took home the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series.)

“Thank you to my wife, Kate, who is here tonight,” he said at the time. “I love you very much.”