‘Last Week Tonight’ gives nod to Lexington for council election

Kentucky managed to get another mention from comedian and “The Daily Show” alumnus John Oliver during Sunday night’s episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” as he continues to dig into the 2024 general election.
The series, known for its satirical commentary on current events, has spent many episodes over the past several weeks focused on the election, with the most recent discussing the number of LGBTQIA+ politicians who won seats at various levels of government. Here’s what we know.
John OliverLouisville’s controversial Ninth Mobile Division criticized on HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight’
During Sunday’s episode, Oliver discussed the nation’s transgender movement, which has been repeatedly targeted by Republican lawmakers, including President-elect Donald Trump, over the past several years. He mentioned that while the GOP made massive gains at the polls, many candidates who identify as part of the community managed to be elected to office, including to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.
“I think a lot of times movements burn out by focusing exclusively on how far we have to go without celebrating the small victories that happened along the way,” Oliver said. “For instance, even amid the GOP’s massive anti-trans ad campaign, on Tuesday, Delaware elected the country’s first openly trans member of Congress, and around the country, at least 35 transgender and gender-expansive candidates won races in places like Montana, Hawaii and Kentucky, where Emma Curtis was elected to the [Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council], and that is a big deal.”
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Curtis won a hotly-contested race against incumbent councilwoman Brenda Monarrez with 52% of the vote versus Monarrez’ 48%, according to unofficial results. She will become the first openly-transgender person elected to the county council and is believed to be the first transgender person elected to a city office in Kentucky history.
Oliver continued, saying Curtis’ election to council surpasses his love for the city’s tourism website.
“Her being elected is now my favorite fact about Lexington just ahead of the fact that its tourism website confidently proclaims it the ‘Horse Capital of the World,'” Oliver said. “The URL for that, by the way, is visitlex.com/things-to-do/horses and let me be the first to say, ‘don’t mind if I do.'”
According to the HBO website, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” is an Emmy award-winning show that premiered in 2014 and is currently in its 11th season. It is known to provide “a satirical, insightful and meticulously researched look at current events in the U.S. and around the globe.”
2024 ElectionsWDRB Mornings anchors featured on HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’
In September, Oliver brought Louisville anchors and media personalities to the national stage to discuss footwear for young adults and teenagers in the segment “People on TV Learn that Gen Z Don’t Like To Show Their Feet.”
Recently, in early October, Oliver also mentioned Louisville Metro Police when discussing traffic stops, “the most common law enforcement interaction in America.” He cited a 2022 article from The Courier Journal where LMPD’s former Ninth Mobile Division violated a teen’s constitutional rights during a 2018 traffic stop.
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” is available for streaming on Max, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Former reporter Rachel Smith contributed to this article. Contact Marina Johnson at [email protected].