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The Danbury City Council voted 18 to 1 to take Oliver up on his offer after the HBO late-night star offered thousands of dollars to the city if it named its wastewater treatment facility the “John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant.”
The war of words began in September when Oliver took a shot at the city during a rant on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.”
“If you’re going to forget a town in Connecticut, why not Danbury?” he mused. “Because, and it’s true, (expletive deleted) Danbury.
"From its charming railway museum to its history half-stone castle, Danbury, Connecticut can (expletive deleted).
“I know exactly three things about Danbury,” he continued. “USA Today ranked it as 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.”
In response, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton posted a video of his own on social media, sarcastically suggesting that he planned to rename the city’s sewer plant in Oliver’s name, “because it’s full of crap, just like you.”
Oliver took the message in stride, and offered to donate $25,000 to the Connecticut Food Bank, $25,000 to Donors Choose fund for Danbury teachers, and $5,000 to ALS Connecticut if Boughton went through with what was initially a tongue-in-cheek joke posted on Facebook.
This week, Oliver got his wish, as the City Council made the name official. A ribbon-cutting at the sewer plant is expected later this year, with Oliver in attendance, though no date has been set.
Oliver has also been offered the honeymoon suite by the Holiday Inn on I-84.
“Congratulations, Mr. Oliver,” Boughton said after the vote was finalized. “You now have a poop plant named after you.”
Not everyone was enthralled by the plan, with City Councilman John Esposito III issuing a statement saying that he couldn’t support the name, even with the charitable donations.
“After considering both sides of this issue I simply could not in good conscience vote yes to name our $102 million dollar wastewater treatment plant after celebrity that insulted our community and threatened violence towards our children, joke or not."
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