John Oliver attacks HBO parent company AT&T for previously endorsing 'White Nationalist' Steve King

The company has since cut ties with the controversial candidate

John Oliver has criticised HBO’s parent company AT&T for previously contributing to controversial Republican candidate Steve King’s campaign for office.

King has been described as “basically an open white nationalist at this point” by neo-Nazi publication The Daily Stormer after he recently defended Austria’s Freedom Party, whose founder was reportedly in the SS.

Asked by a reporter whether he was a white nationalist, King called off the interview, saying: “This is over if you don’t stop talking!”

“Spectacular,” Oliver said of the response while presenting Last Week Tonight. “People who aren’t a white supremacist say ‘No’. Even people who are white supremacists know to say ‘No’. So it takes a special mix of racism and stupid to f**k that one up.”

AT&T, the company behind HBO (who air Last Week Tonight), have since ended relations with King, issuing a statement saying they would no longer make contributions to him, adding: “The committee concluded that further support of Rep. King would not be consistent with one of our core values… ‘Stand for Equality.’”

Not one to brush the news under the carpet, Oliver said the situation was “a little weird because King has been exactly this racist for years now,” pointing to a Tweet posted by King last year in which he said, “culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

Oliver continued: “The news really shouldn’t be these companies bailed on him, so much as they were okay with him for a shockingly long time. Though, of course, AT&T didn’t catch on to King’s white nationalism. Picking up on clear signals isn’t exactly their forte.”

The comic then taunted the corporation: “How do you like dem apples, business daddy? I bet you don’t like dem apples, do ya?!”