After John Oliver rips Danbury, Conn., on his HBO show, the mayor hits back by naming a sewer plant after him: They’re both 'full of crap’

Visitors to Danbury, Connecticut, will now have the pleasure of viewing — and smelling — the small New England town's newest attraction: the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant.

 

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton decided to rename the plant in honor of John Oliver after the comedian dragged the town during a segment on his show last week about how computer algorithms in several states, including Connecticut, allegedly exclude black and Hispanic people from jury candidacy at a disproportionate rate.

Boughton made the announcement in a Facebook video Saturday in which he argued the new name is fitting because both the sewer plant and Oliver are "full of crap."

"Today, I am proud to announce our fourth point of interest," Boughton said. "Behind me you'll see the city of Danbury sewer plant. We are going to rename it the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant. Why? Because it's full of crap, just like you, John."

On his show "Last Week Tonight," Oliver cited an Iowa Law Review study that found that a computer program used to select jury candidates in Connecticut excluded residents of Hartford because it erroneously registered the "d" in Hartford to mean "deceased." The study also found that for years no residents from New Britain, Connecticut, were selected either, due to another computer error.

This was bad, Oliver alleged, because a large majority of the state's black and Hispanic residents live in those two cities and thus didn't receive fair representation.

In his rebuke of the state and its supposedly racist outsourced jury selection processes, Danbury got caught in the crossfire.

"If you are going to forget a town in Connecticut, why not forget Danbury, because, and this is true, f*** Danbury!" Oliver said. "From its charming railway museum to its historic hearthstone castle, Danbury, Connecticut, can eat my whole ass."

"I know exactly three things about Danbury," the comedian continued. "USA Today ranked it the second-best city to live in in 2015, it was once the center of the American hat industry, and if you're from there you have a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver, children included, f*** you."

You can watch the segment below starting at the 5:43 mark.

Content warning: rough language

Curiously, Oliver has yet to respond on social media to the move.