John Oliver Exposes U.S. Slezebag Televangelists

The ‘Last Week Tonight’ host engaged in a seven-month-long investigation into televangelists in order to expose their money-thieving practices.

On his  HBO program Last Week Tonight, John Oliver revels in exposing hypocrisy, from the compromised snake oil salesman Dr. Oz to “thin-skinned” megalomaniac Donald Trump. Sunday night’s edition saw the intrepid British satirist target America’s shady fraternity of televangelists bleeding their brainwashed acolytes dry.

“This is about the churches that exploit people’s faith for monetary gain,” Oliver announced.

Yes, in 2015, televangelism is still thriving in America. Back in March, The Daily Beast reported on Creflo Dollar, a pastor who’d thoroughly convinced his loyal congregation that God wanted him to own a $65 million private jet, and wanted them to foot the bill.

Joining Dollar in his pursuit of the high life is Mike Murdock, a televangelist who shamelessly bragged in front of his congregation about purchasing not one, but two private jets with straight cash. And Kenneth Copeland, a televangelist who—along with his equally opportunistic wife, Gloria—calls his private jet a “preaching machine” that he uses only for church activities, yet was revealed to use it to fly to luxury ski resorts and gaming trips to India to hunt exotic animals.

All of these televangelists and more preach “The Prosperity Gospel” that, Oliver says, “argues that wealth is a sign of God’s favor, and donations will result in wealth coming back to you. That idea takes the form of ‘seed faith’—that donations are seeds that you will one day get to harvest.”