John Oliver started out Sunday’s Last Week Tonight by recapping the news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last week.
The former Prince Andrew, who is the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and brother of King Charles III, was arrested in the U.K. three days ago on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released after several hours in custody.
Police arrested him after emails came to light as part of the Epstein files being released by the U.S. Department of Justice. His ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have put him under scrutiny for years, leading to his being stripped of his royal titles, including that of Prince and also the Duke of York.
On his HBO show Sunday, Oliver showed video from a news report wherein the reporter noted that the arrest came after “growing revelations about the alleged connections” between the two men. The report showed a photo of Epstein and Andrew walking side by side, appearing to be in conversation.
Said Oliver: “It’s true, they arrested former Prince Andrew, and I don’t know why they’re still going with ‘alleged’ connections to Epstein there, while also running a photo that makes them look like the two closest friends I’ve ever seen. It looks like they’re brainstorming a new podcast. It looks like Andrew’s soft-launching, ‘Hey, would it be crazy if we moved in together?’ I’m just saying, maybe drop the ‘alleged’ part when you’re dealing with two guys that look so close they could finish each other’s prison sentences.”
Oliver continued: “And if you’re thinking, ‘Well, what was the new revelation that did it? Was it the grotesque new photo of Andrew on all fours over a young woman? Incredibly, no, it was apparently this.”
He then showed a clip from another news report noting that the arrest reportedly was linked to emails that Andrew forwarded to Epstein when the former was the U.K. trade envoy. Some of the emails were dated 2010, which was after Epstein’s conviction, and contained files from Andrew’s trips overseas.
“Yeah, they got him on forwarding documents, which is a little underwhelming,” Oliver said. “Though, to be honest, when it comes to bringing down monsters, I don’t really care if it’s for a boring computer crime, the same way I’m not that mad if what finally ends a toddler throwing a tantrum is a cardboard box [on his head]. The method doesn’t matter. What’s important is, you have been stopped.”
“Now, Andrew has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and has been released, although that does not mean he’s been found not guilty,” Oliver added, showing the widely circulated photo of Andrew being released from custody, in which he can be seen slumped down in the backseat of a car. “All we really have to go on right now is this fantastic picture of him leaving custody, and you can draw your own conclusions there. Reasonable people can disagree on whether this makes him look guilty — or dead.”
Oliver then showed a report from the Australian version of 60 Minutes in which a former officer who was assigned to guard Andrew hesitantly revealed that the nickname given to him by some of his staffers was “the c***.”
“According to that guy, that was Andrew’s unofficial nickname, and it’s a little weird he was so wary of saying that word on TV given he was appearing on Australia’s 60 Minutes, and Australians say c*** all the time. I’m pretty sure Bluey’s said it at least three times,” Oliver joked.
