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John Oliver mocks the FCC's defense against his net neutrality tirade

John Oliver mocks the FCC's defense against his net neutrality tirade

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The internet went wild earlier this month when John Oliver used his new show to lambast the Federal Communications Commission for its botched net neutrality proposal, but unsurprisingly, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler didn't quite agree with all of its points. Wheeler's credibility was called out by Oliver at one point when he noted that there's some reason to be suspect of Wheeler's legitimate interest in net neutrality: that he used to be a lobbyist for the cable industry. "That is the equivalent of needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo," Oliver said.

Wheeler took it all well enough, remarking that the segment was funny, but he wasn't thrilled with the comparison. "I would like to state for the record that I'm not a dingo," Wheeler said, when asked by a reporter about Oliver's show. For the most part though, Wheeler speaks of the segment positively. "I think that it represents the high level of interest in the topic in the country," Wheeler says in a stilted reply, "and that's good." Oliver doesn't take the opportunity to make a second go at the FCC or net neutrality — this segment is all comedy. Still, with a response like that, he's earned it.