New Zealand politics are, some would consider, politics ‘lite.’ Our scandals are tame compared to our bigger cousins. That’s why we secretly love it when celebrities like John Oliver pay attention to what’s happening here.
This isn’t the first time John Oliver has poked fun at quintessential Kiwi news – he’s previously poked fun at morning radio show interviews of then Prime Minister John Key, our quest to replace our flag, and Steven Joyce, now Finance Minister, who got hit in the face with a dildo.
New Zealand is back on John Oliver’s radar with the National Party’s court case.
The background here is the National Party, the political party in power in New Zealand, used a song in one of their campaign ads that allegedly sounded a little bit like ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem. The track, by the way, is entitled ‘Eminem Esque.’
The National Party were accused of copyright infringement back in 2014.
John Oliver discussed it then when he covered Steven Joyce, then campaign manager’s comments on the matter. Joyce described the use of the track as “pretty legal”, exactly what you’d expect to hear from a campaign manager.
John Oliver is back at it now they’re finally in Court. I’ll let you watch yourself because the footage of ’Lose Yourself’ playing in a courtroom is, as John Oliver would put it ‘the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.’
