John Oliver has mocked the Tokyo Olympics’ plan to hand out thousands of condoms to athletes before requesting they refrain from using them.
Condoms have been distributed as tradition since 1988 in Seoul to help raise awareness of HIV and AIDS.
However, this year’s Games will be subject to strict coronavirus protocols, which will see no international fans in attendance and limit social mixing between athletes.
“Well, good luck with that,” Oliver said of the plan. “Have fun selling that message at the condom booth: ‘Hello, 21-year-old Adonis with the physical stamina of a young gazelle, welcome to what is essentially a lightly monitored dorm floor you’ll be sharing with some of the most chiselled bodies on the planet, all of whom you’ll likely never see again.
“‘Here are some free condoms, but please make sure you save them– actually you’re already f***ing.’”
However, Oliver said it was good news for Japan’s biggest condom manufacturer, and drew attention to some of the more colourful condom adverts seen on TV in the country.
In the same segment, the late-night host questioned the logic of going ahead with the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, pointing out that the pandemic is “very still much not over”.
Appearing in the latest edition of his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, the late-night show shared footage of protestors and “Japan’s version of Dr Fauci”, top medical advisor Shigeru Omi, saying “the situation is not normal”.
Just six per cent of Japan’s population has been fully vaccinated due to a slow rollout, and the country’s daily death rate from Covid-19 is currently higher than it was when the Summer Olympics were cancelled last year.
“While I don’t know what the target percentage should be to safely host the Olympics, I’m pretty sure that right now it should be higher than the number of entries in the Fast and the Furious franchise,” Oliver said, via Deadline.
He added that organisers seem to be basing their decision on the financial repercussions should they cancel the event for a second time: Japan has already spent $15.4bn (£11.1bn), though government audits suggest that figure could be higher.
Apparently, the decision to stop the Olympics is not actually up to Japan; the International Olympics Committee has the sole power to cancel the event.
Oliver said this was like “if your child got the flu and you tried to reschedule their birthday party, only to get overruled by the clown you hired”.
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