President Donald Trump’s current Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, is all for work requirements being added to Medicaid under Trump’s new funding bill, arguing that it allows people to “prove you matter.” John Oliver promptly ripped that idea to shreds on Sunday night, though.
In the latest episode of “Last Week Tonight,” the HBO host picked apart Trump’s bill, which indeed would add work requirements for many low income recipients earning Medicaid, among other things. According to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the move is intended to weed out “29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games” while still getting benefits.
Oz feels similarly, arguing that the work requirement will not only motivate people, but make them feel good about themselves. “Go out there, do entry level jobs, get into the workforce, prove that you matter,” Oz said in a recent interview with Fox Business.
“Hold on, ‘Prove that you matter?’” Oliver retorted in disbelief. “So, a person only means something if they work. That is not true at all. In fact, if ever there were proof that you can work for decades while adding exactly zero value to society, it is Dr. Oz himself, who as we had mentioned before, once did an episode of his show where he asked Cameron Diaz this…”
At that, a clip from a 2014 episode of Oz’s show began playing, in which he asked the actress if she’s ever struggled with bowel movements, prompting her to awkwardly tell him she’s “not a girl that gets constipated.”
“That was on daytime television! That played in restaurants and waiting rooms!” Oliver marveled.
Elsewhere in the segment, the comedian played another clip of Oz’s outlook on employment, in which the former TV doctor said that people don’t necessarily have to get a job, but at least try to get one. Once again, Oliver simply scoffed at the man.
“Yeah, Dr. Oz is back with his ‘Pull yourself up by your own connections to Oprah’ bulls–t,” he mocked. “That man is a real piece of s–t. Which piece of s–t? Who can say, exactly?”
As Oliver’s main story came to an end, the late night host eventually circled back once more to Oz’s fascination with discussing poop on-air, playing a supercut of every time the man did it. You can watch John Oliver’s full story in the video above.
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” returns with new episodes on July 27.
