John Oliver Skewers Miss America Pageant, but Hilariously Confirms It's the World's Biggest Scholarship Provider for Women: Watch!

And don't miss Kathy Griffin showing up on Last Week Tonight to remind John what pageants are all about

By Natalie Finn Sep 22, 2014 8:27 PMTags
John OliverHBO

Another Sunday, another wealth of possibilities for John Oliver's signature brand of takedown.

Yesterday on HBO's Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, it was the 93-year-old Miss America Pageant that was on the receiving end of his pointed observations, from the fact that once upon a time even the shape of the contestants' skulls was up for scrutiny to today's reliance on butt glue to keep their bikini bottoms in place during the still-chugging swimsuit competiton.

And as has become routine, Oliver nailed his argument every which way—and even though he handily debunked the pageant's claim that they give $45 million in scholarship money to women every year (those who compete in their pageants, that is), the former Daily Show correspondent also confirmed something that he found to be not the worst news, yet ultimately troubling all the same.

Considering Miss America contestants can't be married and can not either be mothers or have ever been pregnant ("a mint-condition uterus" is a must), Oliver wasn't in love with the fact that the Miss America Organization actually is the largest scholarship provider for women in the world.

Oliver's explanation of the Miss America money matters is a must-watch—his James Franco reference is pretty priceless and he also provides website info for other scholarship funds you can donate to—and then, better yet, he decides to hold his own contest, the Miss Last Week Tonight Pageant.

His first contestant, Miss First Contestant, seemed like a frontrunner, but then...

HBO

In walked Kathy Griffin to steal the show and remind Oliver and his audience what pageants are really about. With some help from Giuseppe, of course.

"Oh, I have no problem with that at all," the comedienne said when asked if she thought that, when it came to handing out scholarships, if there was any place for judgment of a woman's body to be involved in the process. "As long as men are subjected to the same demeaning process."

Watch now, laugh and learn: