John Oliver’s Hilarious Message for National Spelling Bee Contestants

Nick Paschal
·Supervising Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

In honor of the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee finals, John Oliver delivered a message to the kids of the bee. Sitting behind his Last Week Tonight desk, Oliver first had a message for the spelling bee itself, saying, “Congratulations on your 90th birthday, spelling bee, and let me say, you look amazing for your age, and your recent work is really some of your best. You’re basically the Betty White of bees.”

But Oliver’s main message was for the contestants themselves, as he told them, “I respect each and every one of you who gets up onstage at spelling bees all over the country, whether you win or whether you lose.” Oliver then went on to explain why he respected them, saying, “Because you are the people who take one look at spell check and say, no, thank you.” Oliver then added, “I admire you all because I’m British, and, therefore, I’m a terrible speller. According to Americans, I can’t spell color, center, or, ironically, humor.”

Last Week Tonight airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.

Watch this 12-year-old get sassy at the Scripps National Spelling Bee:

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