HBO’s John Oliver disses Danbury, Mayor Boughton disses back

A bizarre and foul-language-fueled feud has been initiated by John Oliver, host of HBO”™s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” against Danbury, bringing Mayor Mark Boughton into the fray.

Oliver used the Aug. 16 episode of his show to highlight problems with the jury selection system. Citing Connecticut as an example, Oliver claimed residents in Hartford and New Britain were being omitted from jury duty because a computer glitch reported them as being deceased. At that point, Oliver launched into scatological denunciation of Danbury.

“Cuz if you”™re gonna forget a town in Connecticut, why not forget Danbury?” Oliver exclaimed. “Because, and this is true, f**k Danbury! From its charming Railway Museum to its historic Hearthstone Castle, Danbury Connecticut can eat my whole a**. I know exactly three things about Danbury: 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”™ve got a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver, children included. F**k you!”

Oliver had previously insulted Danbury in 2017 when Boughton produced a video that offered the city as the site of Amazon”™s second headquarters complex ”“ that effort fell short, but in June Amazon chose Danbury as the site of a new last-mile distribution complex.

Boughton responded to Oliver”™s insults via Twitter, retweeting an unflattering childhood portrait of Oliver while offering a bare-knuckles invitation to the comic.

“Hey @iamjohnoliver don’t worry, we are working on some Danbury payback for you,” Boughton tweeted. “Oh, and I will not hesitate to throw the hands. #bringit”

To be continued…