Among all the noise, here’s some real talk on monkeypox and how we got here
Talk show host John Oliver dedicated the bulk of his Sunday night show to covering monkeypox, criticizing both the public health response rollout and how some on the Right are discussing it.Oliver singled out Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene during the Last Week Tonight segment, pointing out the “obvious dog-whistle” homophobia in her comments on the disease.In one clip Oliver played, Greene says, “Of course, monkeypox is a threat to some people in our population, but we know what causes it.
It’s basically a sexually transmitted disease, so it doesn’t affect most of the population. People just have to laugh at it, mock it, and reject it….It’s another scam.”Related: Tucker Carlson suggests giving monkeypox this new, gay-related name“Obviously, that is ridiculous,” Oliver responded. “If the way to get rid of something awful was for people to laugh at it and mock it, that woman clearly wouldn’t be in Congress.”Oliver also showed a tweet Greene posted in July that said, “If monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease, why are kids getting it.”He called it “an act of obvious dog-whistle bigotry, suggesting gay people are a danger to children,” and he’s not wrong.Later that month, Greene said on her webcast that, “Monkeypox is all the rage, it is the hottest thing going in Washington, D.C.
right now.”Related: He loved his Florida trip. Then the monkeypox blisters appeared.She continued: “You are not supposed to talk about how it really gets spread around but we are going to just go ahead and let you know.“Yes, it is gay sex orgies, sorry everybody, that is the truth, it just had to be said.
