When the character of Steamboat Willie entered public domain back in 2024, John Oliver immediately started having fun with Disney’s iconic mouse. And on Sunday night, he warned the company once more that he has another of the Fab 5 in his sights.
The HBO host devoted his main segment on this week’s episode of “Last Week Tonight” to sting operations, and calling out who they target — and how. To kick things off, Oliver zeroed in on an operation in which a police officer dressed up as Donald Duck and attempted to cross a busy street. Anyone who didn’t stop to allow the giant duck to cross was given a ticket.
“I get why she kept driving there,” Oliver said, after watching testimony from one of the penalized drivers. “Ducks are terrifying! As we’ve covered before, all ducks, Donald included, have a corkscrew penis.”
At that, an image of Donald Duck appeared, indeed with his appendage looking like a corkscrew. Oliver was quick to point out that this was not the first time his show had used the image, and likely would not be the last. With that, came his warning.
“Incidentally, Disney, this guy hits public domain in 2030, and things are going to get interesting then,” he teased.
Back in 2024, when Steamboat Willie hit public domain, Oliver was quick to take advantage, bringing the character with him to an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and even adding the mouse to the “Last Week Tonight” intro sequence.
One can only imagine what he has planned for Donald Duck.
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” airs Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on HBO.
