As John Oliver was accepting the Emmy for Scripted Variety Series for his late night show, “Last Week Tonight,” Sunday night, he started by thanking his staff at HBO.
Then he shouted out his wife, his kids ― and his family dog.
“I also want to thank — this is going to be very silly — our dog. We have the most fantastic dog. And she was at our wedding and she got us through a pandemic, she was with us for two pregnancies,” he said, as the music meant to signal winners to wrap up their acceptance speeches started playing.
“Perfect choice of music,” Oliver added. “We had to say goodbye to her.”
The audience gasped and laughed.
“I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now. She was an amazing dog, and — ouch,” Oliver said, laughing. “This isn’t just for her. This is for all dogs.”
The audience cheered as Oliver turned the awkward moment into a joke, saying all dogs are “very good girls” and “very good boys” and all deserve a treat.
“Play me off now,” Oliver said, before exiting the stage.